<v. 


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THE   SOUNDS   OF 
SPOKEN     ENGLISH 


A  MANUAL  OF  EAR  TRAINING 
FOR  ENGLISH  STUDENTS 


BY 

WALTER   RIPPMANN 


NEW    YORK 
E.    P.    BUTTON    G?   CO. 


NOTE 

As  the  title  of  this  book  is  ambitious,  and  the 
sub-title  may  not  suffice  to  indicate  its  limitations, 
it  is  well  to  warn  the  reader  that  he  will  find  no 
exhaustive  treatment  of  English  speech  sounds. 
That  would  have  required  knowledge  greater  than 
mine,  and  more  space  than  was  at  my  disposal. 
The  little  book  is  an  attempt  to  gain  fellow-workers 
in  a  field  which  is  unduly  neglected,  yet  full  of 
promise.  Fascinating  indeed  are  the  problems 
afforded  by  the  speech  of  those  around  us ;  per- 
plexing often,  stimulating  to  further  inquiry. 

It  was  in  teaching  the  pronunciation  of  foreign 
languages  that  I  first  realised  how  important  it  is 
to  acquire  a  knowledge  of  the  sounds  of  the  mother 
tongue.  Before  the  learner  can  acquire  the  fresh 
habits  of  speech  peculiar  to  the  foreign  language, 
his  teacher  must  know  clearly  what  distinguishes 
the  new  sounds  from  those  familiar  in  the  mother 
tongue,  for  only  then  can  the  foreign  pronunciation 
be  imparted  in  a  methodical  way.  It  has  been 
shown  convincingly  that  it  is  vain  to  trust  altogether 
to  imitation,  however  correct  and  clear  may  be  the 
pronunciation  of  the  teacher. 

The  book  may  therefore  be  useful  to  the  teacher 
of  foreign  languages;  but  it  is  intended  also  for  a 


2038636 


vi  Note 

larger  circle.  In  our  Training  Colleges,  noted  for 
earnest  work,  the  importance  of  the  spoken  language 
has  long  been  felt,  and  much  attention  has  been 
devoted  to  the  cultivation  of  the  voice.  My  object 
has  not  been  to  write  on  voice  production,  though 
occasional  reference  to  the  subject  has  been  made. 
It  has  not  been  my  aim  to  say  how  the  language 
ought  to  be  spoken,  to  improve  upon  the  ordinary 
speech  of  our  day,  but  to  represent  it  to  the  best 
of  my  ability,  and  to  enable  others  to  distinguish 
speech  sounds  when  they  hear  them.  If  it  be 
desirable  to  improve  upon  our  speech,  its  present 
condition  and  tendencies  must  first  be  determined. 

The  difficulties  of  the  undertaking  have  been  con- 
siderable; I  confess  that  I  have  often  given  my 
impressions  rather  than  the  well-substantiated  results 
of  observation.  I  am  confident  that  particularly 
those  who  have  had  no  phonetic  training  will  regard 
as  slipshod  somo  of  the  pronunciations  which  I  state 
to  be  usual.  I  can  only  ask  them  to  put  aside  all 
preconceived  notions  of  what  is  "  correct,"  and  to 
listen  carefully  to  the  unconstrained  speech  of  their 
friends.  If  they  still  find  that  the  facts  do  not  bear 
out  what  is  here  stated,  they  will  do  me  a  service 
by  sending  me  their  corrections. 

The  learned  critic  who  chances  to  take  up  this 
book  may  feel  offended  that  I  should  have  treated 
phonetics  in  so  conversational  a  tone,  and  disap- 
pointed at  finding  little  or  nothing  with  which  he  is 
not  well  acquainted.  My  endeavour  has  been  to 
put  things  very  simply,  and  to  make  the  beginner 
in  phonetics  hear  for  himself.  It  is  only  a  first 


Note  vii 

step ;  but  I  am  not  without  hope  that  some  will  be 
induced  to  take  a  second  step  and  a  third,  until  the 
number  of  students  is  far  larger  than  at  present. 
The  teachers  in  our  schools  have  had  scant  oppor- 
tunities for  ear-training,  and  the  mother  tongue  has 
sadly  suffered. 

I  have  been  much  encouraged  in  my  work  by 
the  generous  help  of  friends ;  to  Prof.  A.  T.  Baker, 
Mr  W.  Osborne  Brigstocke,  Principal  A.  Burrell, 
Dr  E.  E.  Edwards,  Miss  E.  Fogerty,  Mr  W.  W  Greg, 
Dr  H.  F.  Heath,  Dr  R.  J.  Lloyd,  Mr  R  B.  McKerrow, 
and  Prof.  G.  C.  Moore  Smith,  I  am  much  indebted 
for  useful  and  suggestive  criticisms. 

LONDON  WALTER  RIPPMANN 

1st  November  1905 

I  am  glad  to  say  that  it  has  not  been  necessary 
to  make  any  far-reaching  changes  in  the  later 
editions.  That  the  book  has  aroused  interest 
is  evident ;  and  if  its  readers  have  not  agreed  with 
it  in  every  detail,  that  is  what  I  fully  anticipated  and 
even  desired,  for  its  object  was  to  render  students 
more  critical  in  their  consideration  of  the  spoken 
language.  To  make  a  dogmatic  pronouncement  on 
all  points  would  have  been  misleading. 

This  book  has  now  been  supplemented  by  a  volume 
of  Specimens  of  English,  in  which  I  have  given,  in  the 
phonetic  transcription,  a  number  of  passages  ranging 
in  style  from  the  careful  and  elevated  to  the  col- 
loquial and  familiar. 

May  1913  W'  &' 


CONTENTS 

SBOT.  PAGE 

INTRODUCTION         .....  1 

1.  Purpose  of  the  Book             ....  1 

2.  Different  Ways  of    Approaching    the  Subject  of 

Spoken  English    .....  2 

3.  Standard  Speech       .....  3 
THE  ORGANS  OF  SPEECH     ....  6 

4.  Breathing     ......  6 

6.  Good  Air       ......  7 

8.  The  Vocal  Chords     .....  9 

7.  Voice             ......  12 

8.  The  Velum ;  Nasalising       .  .  .  ,14 

9.  The  Mouth  Passage  ;  Vowel  and  Consonant            «  16 

10.  Continuants .  .  .  .  .  .17 

11.  Stops 17 

12.  Place  of  Closure  or  Narrowing         .  .  .18 

13.  The  Epiglottis          .....  18 

14.  Good  Hearing            .....  19 
16.  Shouting       ......  20 

16.  THE  REPRESENTATION  OF  SPEECH  SOUNDS             .  20 

17.  The  Inadequacy  of  the  Spelling  ;  its  Causes             .  21 

18.  Spelling  Reform        .....  23 

19.  The  Need  of  a  Phonetic  Alphabet   .  .24 

20.  The  Sounds  of  Standard  English      .            .            .  24 
THE  SOUNDS  CONSIDERED  SEPARATELY       .           .  28 

21.  Stops             ......  28 

22.  Lip  Stops      .                        ....  29 


x  Contents 

SCOT. 

23.  The  Tongue  and  its  Parts  . 

24.  Teeth  Stops  . 

25.  Front  and  Back  Stops 

26.  Continuants  ;  Lip  Continuants 

27.  Lip  Teeth  Continuants 

28.  Teeth  Continuants    . 

29.  The  Hushing  Sounds  .  . 

30.  The  Hissing  Sounds  .  . 
81.  The  Lisping  Sounds  .            . 

32.  The  Liquids  ;  the  r  Sounds  .  . 

33.  The;  Sounds 

34.  Front  and  Back  Continuants 

35.  The  h  Sounds 

36.  Vowels  . 

37.  The  a  Sounds  . 
88.  a  and  9 

39.  The  Front  Vowels  ,  se  and  g 

40.  ai  and  au  ,  ,  , 

41.  Middle  and  Close  e   .  .  . 

42.  The  i  Sounds 

43.  The  Back  Vowels ;  Open  o  . 

44.  Middle  and  Close  o  .  ,  . 

45.  The  u  Sounds  .  .  . 

46.  SOUNDS  IN  CONNECTED  SPEECH       . 

47.  Strong  and  Weak  Forms      .  . 

48.  Unstressed  Lax  i      .  .  , 

49.  Assimilation  .  .  . 

50.  Simplification  of  Consonant  Groups 
61.  Stress  of  the  Word    . 

52.  Sonority ;  the  Syllable         .  . 

53.  Stress  of  the  Sentence  ;  Scanning    , 
64.  Stress  .  •  . 


Contents 


MCT. 

65.  Pitch  ......        88 

CONCLUSION  .  .  .  t  *  .        89 

56.  Importance  of  Ear-Training.  *  .  ,89 

57.  Public  Speaking       .....        80 


APPENDICES — 

I.  Exercises           .            .            .            .  .        93 

II.  Lists  of  Words  with  Phonetic  Transcription  .         97 

A.  General 98 

B.  Proper  Names      .            .            •  •      111 

III.  On  the  Teaching  of  Reading     -            .  .120 

IV.  Diagrams          .            .            .            .  .121 


THE  ORGANS  OF  SPEECH. 

Plate  1J1.  in  A.  v.  Ltischka's  '  Der  Schlundkopf  des  Alenschen.'  reproduced,  by  permistion  of 
the  Publithers.  Afessrs  H.  Laupp  <t  Co.,  Tubingen. 


INTRODUCTION 

THAT  a  book  dealing  with  English  pronunciation  1 
in  quite  a  simple  way  should  yet  be  intended  for 
English  readers  rather  than  for  foreigners  may 
seem  to  require  some  explanation.  "Have  I  not 
been  talking  English  all  my  life  1 "  the  reader  may 
ask ;  "  why  should  I  concern  myself  with  the  pro- 
nunciation of  my  mother  tongue  ? "  If  he  is  quite 
satisfied  with  the  way  in  which  he  speaks,  and  needs 
no  help  in  teaching  others  to  speak,  then  this  little 
book  is  indeed  superfluous — for  him ;  but  experience 
has  shown  that  there  are  many  who  are  groping  about 
in  darkness,  anxious  for  light  on  the  subject.  It  is 
above  all  the  teacher  who  is  constantly  brought  face 
to  face  with  some  difficulty  on  the  part  of  a  pupil. 
He  realises  that  something  is  wrong  in  the  pronuncia- 
tion of  a  word,  but  he  cannot  clearly  tell  where  the 
fault  lies ;  he  trusts  that  improvement  will  follow  if 
he  repeatedly  utters  the  word  correctly  pronounced 
and  gets  the  pupil  to  say  it  after  him.  To  his  distress 
the  pupil  still  says  the  word  in  the  old  way,  and 
at  last  the  teacher  gives  up  in  despair.  When  a 
foreign  language  is  attempted,  the  difficulties  become 
even  more  apparent;  but  these  we  do  not  propose 
to  consider  here,  except  in  so  far  as  they  throw 
light  on  our  immediate  subject,  the  pronunciation 
of  English. 


a          The  Sounds  of  Spoken  English 

2.  There  are  several  ways  of  approaching  the  question. 
We  may  turn  our  attention  mainly  to  the  require- 
ments of  the  public  speaker  —  clergyman,  actor, 
singer,  lecturer,  reciter,  or  politician ;  this  is  the 
province  of  the  teachers  of  elocution.  It  must  be 
confessed  that  these  have  rarely  had  a  scientific 
training ;  in  many  cases  they  base  their  teaching 
on  their  own  experience  as  reciters  and  on  what 
their  powers  of  observation  have  enabled  them  to 
learn  from  their  pupils;  and  they  frequently  hand 
on  traditions  obtained  from  their  own  teachers, 
which  may  have  nothing  but  old  age  to  recommend 
them.  It  is  to  be  feared  that  the  majority  of  those 
professing  to  teach  elocution  are  little  better  than 
quacks ;  and  by  no  one  is  this  more  readily  acknow- 
ledged than  by  the  few  who  have  made  an  earnest 
study  of  the  art  of  public  speaking  and  singing. 

The  physicist  considers  the  production  of  sounds 
from  another  point  of  view ;  he  measures  the  waves 
of  sound  with  delicate  instruments.  The  physiologist, 
again,  studies  the  organs  of  speech  in  a  state  of  health 
and  sickness. 

From  all  these  the  phonetician  derives  assistance. 
His  concern  is  the  spoken  language  generally.  He 
seeks  to  ascertain  how  sounds  are  produced,  and  how 
they  are  represented  in  writing ;  he  traces  the  changes 
which  sounds  undergo  according  to  time  and  place  • 
he  attempts  to  determine  the  standard  of  speech  for 
his  own  time  and  his  own  surroundings  ;  he  considers 
how  the  pronunciation  is  best  imparted  to  the  young 
and  to  foreigners. 

When  the  reader  has  come  to  the  end  of  this  little 


The  Aim  of  the  Phonetician  3 

book,  he  will  see  how  complicated  these  problems  are, 
and  how  much  yet  awaits  solution ;  he  may  also  have 
acquired  some  interest  in  these  problems  and  desire 
to  give  his  help.  Such  help  is  urgently  needed ;  the 
number  of  serious  students  is  distressingly  small,  and 
real  progress  can  only  be  made  if  their  number  grows 
considerably. 

Keference  has  been  made  to  the  question  of  stan-  3. 
dard  speech ;  it  is  convenient  to  discuss  this  at  once, 
as  the  standard  selected  naturally  affects  the  way  in 
which  the  subject  of  English  pronunciation  is  treated. 

It  is  generally  agreed  that  there  are  two  principal 
types  of  English  speech  :  Southern  English,  of  which 
Dr  H.  Sweet  is  the  best  known  exponent ;  and 
Northern  English,  which  Dr  E.  J.  Lloyd  has 
described  in  an  excellent  book.  Southern  English 
may  be  defined  as  the  English  spoken  in  London.  The 
definition  will  at  once  strike  the  reader  as  requiring 
some  modification — for  what  form  of  English  is  not 
spoken  in  London?  and  the  dialect  (or  rather  set  of 
dialects)  peculiar  to  London  and  known  as  "cockney" 
is  certainly  not  to  be  set  up  as  the  standard. 

The  object  of  speech  is  to  communicate  what  is  in 
the  mind  of  the  speaker  to  others ;  the  more  ade- 
quately it  attains  this  end,  the  better  it  is.  If  there 
is  anything  in  the  manner  of  speech  which  attracts 
attention  to  itself  (for  example,  "  talkin' "  in  place  of 
"  talking,"  or  "  'ot "  for  "  hot "),  then  our  attention 
is  distracted  from  the  subject  discussed ;  we  say 
that  such  faulty  speech  "  jars  "  upon  us.  The  same 
is  true  if  the  pronunciation  is  indistinct,  or  the  voice 


4          The  Sounds  of  Spoken  English 

pitched  too  high,  or  if  the  speaker  stammers ;  we 
then  suffer  from  the  strain  of  listening,  and  again  the 
object  of  speech,  to  communicate  thought,  is  not 
attained  with  the  least  amount  of  effort.  It  follows 
naturally  from  what  has  been  said  that  it  is  our  duty 
towards  our  fellows  to  speak  in  such  a  way  that  no- 
thing jars  on  their  ear,  nothing  strains  their  attention. 
To  retain  certain  peculiarities  of  speech  which  we 
know  to  differ  from  general  usage  is  nothing  short 
of  rudeness.  In  a  great  man  we  may  overlook  it,  in 
acknowledgment  of  the  services  he  has  rendered  to 
mankind ;  but  we  who  are  in  a  humbler  position 
must  endeavour  to  render  it  as  easy  and  pleasant  as 
possible  for  others  to  follow  what  we  say. 

We  are  now  able  to  give  a  better  definition  of 
standard  speech  as  considered  in  this  book :  it  is  that 
form  of  spoken  English  which  will  appear  to  the 
majority  of  educated  Londoners  as  entirely  free  from 
unusual  features.  This  speech  will  be  acceptable  not 
only  in  London,  but  throughout  the  south  of  England ; 
there  is  reason  to  believe  that  it  is  spreading ;  and 
nowhere  will  it  be  unintelligible  or  even  objection- 
able. 

It  must  be  confessed,  that  on  some  points  there 
is  uncertainty,1  and  these  will  be  discussed  later. 
Language  is  always  changing,  and  the  younger 
generation  does  not  speak  exactly  as  the  older 

1  It  might  be  thought  that  reference  to  a  dictionary  would 
be  sufficient  to  settle  disputed  points.  However,  it  may  be 
said  that  no  dictionary — not  even  the  familiar  Webster  or 
the  great  Oxford  English  dictionary,  now  in  course  of  publica- 
tion— can  be  implicitly  trusted  in  matters  of  pronunciation. 


Standard  Speech  5 

generation  does.  The  standard  of  to-day  will  no 
longer  be  the  standard  a  hundred  years  hence. 
Nevertheless,  it  is  well  to  inquire  what  may  be  re- 
garded as  the  best  speech  of  our  own  day,  with  a 
view  to  conforming  to  this  speech  and  teaching  its 
use  to  our  pupils. 

The  question  may  here  be  raised  whether  we  are 
to  rest  content  with  the  standard  speech  as  here 
defined,  or  should  strive  to  improve  it,  for  instance 
by  aiming  at  simple  vowels  instead  of  diphthongs, 
or  by  carefully  uttering  consonants  which  are  now 
commonly  dropped.  Even  if  it  be  desirable,  it  may 
well  be  doubted  whether  it  is  possible,  so  subtle  are 
the  changes  in  our  pronunciation,  and  so  uncon- 
sciously are  they  performed.  There  is  a  deep- 
seated  tendency  to  economy  of  effort,  which  it 
would  be  idle  to  ignore. 

It  must  always  be  remembered  that  the  phone- 
tician is  primarily  concerned  with  the  question  how 
people  actually  speak ;  the  determination  of  this 
must  needs  precede  any  attempt  to  decide  how 
people  ought  to  speak. 

In  the  following  pages  we  shall  consider  the 
organs  of  speech,  the  various  classes  of  sounds,  and 
how  these  are  produced.  Then  we  inquire  into  their 
combination  to  form  words,  and  the  combination  of 
words  in  sentences.  Incidentally  we  notice  collo- 
quial tendencies,  the  requirements  of  public  speaking, 
and  other  topics  arising  naturally  from  our  subject. 


THE  ORGANS  OF  SPEECH 

For  speaking  we  need  breath. 

In  ordinary  breathing  we  take  about  the  same 
time  to  draw  the  breath  into  the  lungs  as  to  let  it 
out.  In  English  speech  we  use  only  the  breath  which 
is  let  out;  and  when  we  are  speaking  we  accord- 
ingly draw  it  in  quickly  and  let  it  out  slowly.  This 
requires  careful  adjustment;  if  we  are  not  careful, 
our  breath  gives  out  in  the  middle  of  a  sentence. 
This  is  one  of  the  things  that  jar,  and  must  be 
avoided. 

The  more  breath  we  can  draw  in  (or  inhale)  at 
once,  the  longer  we  can  use  it  for  speech  as  we  let 
it  cut  (or  exhale  it).  It  is  therefore  to  our  advan- 
tage to  grow  accustomed  to  taking  deep  breaths, 
and  thus  to  increase  the  capacity  of  the  lungs. 

"Deep  breaths  "  expresses  exactly  what  is  wanted. 
The  lungs  are  like  two  elastic  bellows.  We  may 
expand  them  only  a  little ;  we  can  expand  them  a 
great  deal.  The  student  should  make  himself 
familiar  with  the  shape  of  the  lungs.  They  occupy 
the  chest,  which  is  a  kind  of  box  with  elastic 
sides  and  bottom.  The  sides  are  held  out  by  the 
ribs,  and  when  the  two  sets  of  ribs  are  drawn  apart, 
the  sides  of  the  box  are  made  larger.  The  bottom 
of  the  box  (called  the  diaphragm)  is  not  flat,  but 
rounded,  bulging  upwards  when  the  lungs  are  empty 


Breathing  7 

When,  however,  the  diaphragm  contracts  so  that 
breath  is  drawn  into  the  lungs  to  their  full  capacity, 
it  becomes  practically  flat.  If  at  the  same  time 
we  extend  the  ribs,  then  we  have  a  considerably 
increased  space  for  the  lungs.  Often,  however,  there 
is  the  less  satisfactory  kind  of  breathing  in  which 
the  ribs  are  not  sufficiently  active.  The  descending 
diaphragm  then  presses  on  the  soft  parts  underneath, 
and  this  in  turn  leads  to  a  pushing  forward  of  the 
abdomen.1 

Good  breathing  is  essential  not  only  for  the  singer 
or  the  public  speaker ;  it  is  essential  for  every 
teacher  and  for  every  pupil.  It  is  necessary  for 
good  speech,  and  it  is  necessary  for  good  health. 
The  teacher  should  ascertain  as  soon  as  possible 
whether  his  pupils  are  breathing  well ;  a  simple  test 
is  to  determine  how  long  they  can  hold  their  breath. 
They  should  certainly  all  be  able  to  do  so  for  forty 
seconds,  and  should  gradually  learn  to  emit  a  vowel 
sound  for  at  least  thirty  seconds  without  a  pause, 
and  with  uniform  pitch  and  volume.  Breathing 
exercises  should  form  a  regular  part  of  the  pupils' 
physical  training,  and  the  teacher  should  make  a 
point  of  drawing  the  instructor's  special  attention  to 
pupils  whose  breathing  appears  defective. 

The  teacher  should  also  make  sure  that  the  air  5. 
breathed  is  the  best  procurable  under  the  conditions; 

1  Another  defective  method  of  breathing  consists  in  raising 
the  shoulders  for  the  purpose  of  increasing  the  capacity  of  the 
lungs.  The  shoulders  should,  however,  not  be  moved  at  all  in 
breathing. 


8          The  Sounds  of  Spoken  English 

he  must  never  relax  in  his  care  that  the  ventilation 
is  good.  The  results  of  recent  research  have  not  yet 
been  sufficiently  taken  to  heart,  and  much  weariness 
and  ill-health  are  still  due  to  quite  avoidable  causes. 
It  may  be  laid  down  as  an  absolute  necessity  that 
there  should  be  a  pause  of  at  least  five  minutes  in 
the  winter,  and  at  least  ten  in  the  summer  between 
consecutive  periods  of  teaching,  the  periods  them- 
selves not  exceeding  fifty  minutes,  even  in  the  case  of 
the  oldest  pupils  of  school  age.  During  the  interval 
the  doors  and  windows  should  be  thrown  wide  open, 
and  the  room  flushed  with  fresh  air.  The  floor 
should  be  either  of  hard  wood  treated  with  "dustless 
oil "  or  of  cork  linoleum.  The  blackboard  should  be 
wiped  with  a  damp  cloth,  in  order  to  prevent  the 
chalk  from  vitiating  the  air.  In  this  way  the 
microbes  and  particles  of  dust  will  be  sensibly 
reduced  in  number,  and  the  proportion  of  oxygen 
in  the  air  will  remain  satisfactory. 

The  seats  and  desks  must  be  of  such  a  kind  that 
the  pupils  will  naturally  assume  positions  favourable 
for  good  breathing.  They  must  be  graduated  in 
size;  the  seats  must  have  suitably  curved  backs; 
and  there  must  be  some  adjustment  by  which  the 
edge  of  the  desk  will  overhang  the  edge  of  the  seat 
when  the  pupils  are  writing,  whereas  there  is  a  clear 
space  between  them  when  the  pupil  stands.  This 
may  be  obtained  either  by  making  the  desk  as  a 
whole,  or  the  lid  of  it,  move  forward  and  backward ; 
or  by  making  the  seat  movable.  It  is  not  the  place 
here  to  enter  into  further  details  with  regard  to 
these  important  matters ;  it  must  suffice  to  remind 


Good  Air  and  a  Good  Posture          9 

the  teacher  that  unceasing  perseverance  is  required. 
Gently,  but  firmly,  he  must  insist  that  his  pupils 
hold  themselves  well;  not  stiffly,  of  course,  nor 
without  variety  of  position.  To  sit  rigidly  means  a 
great  strain  for  a  child l ;  and  it  is  very  desirable  that 
pupils  should  have  frequent  opportunities  of  changing 
their  posture,  and  especially  of  resting  against  the 
back  of  the  seat. 

It  will  often  be  found  that  a  few  minutes  given  to  6. 
breathing  exercises  in  the  middle  of  a  lesson  will 
serve  to  freshen  the  pupils.  An  excellent  set  of 
exercises  is  given  in  Dr  Hulbert's  Breathing  for  Voice 
Production  (publ.  by  Novello),  which  teachers  will 
do  well  to  read  and  to  put  into  practice.2  Many  of 
the  throat  troubles  of  which  teachers  complain  are 
directly  due  to  bad  breathing  and  bad  ventilation. 

Singing  and  speaking  in  chorus,  if  heartily  done 
by  all,  may  be  regarded  as  admirable  breathing 
exercises,  apart  from  their  use  in  other  respects. 

A  few  words  with  regard  to  chorus  work  may  be 
useful  to  the  teacher.  If  well  carried  out,  it  can 
be  of  great  service.  The  individual  is  encouraged 
to  speak  up  well ;  it  is  often  found  that  the  class 
speaking  in  chorus  is  better  in  pronunciation  than 
the  majority  of  those  composing  it.  When  a  child 
speaks  alone,  self-consciousness  may  make  it  hesitate 
or  prevent  it  from  raising  its  voice.  But  the  chorus 

1  The  custom  of  insisting  on  tightly-folded  arms  is  not  to  be 
encouraged. 

3  The  exercises  suggested  by  Mr  Burrell  in  Clear  Speakino 
and  Good  Reading  (p.  16  and  foil.)  are  also  recommended. 


io        The  Sounds  of  Spoken  English 


work  must  be  guided  with  care  and  used  with 
moderation.  Nothing  could  surely  be  more  objec- 
tionable than  the  monotonous  sing-song  into  which 
the  reading  of  a  class  is  almost  sure  to  degenerate 
if  all  or  nearly  all  their  reading  is  in  chorus.  The 
teacher  will  guard  against  this  by  making  the  pupils 


Epiglottis. 


Left  Tocal 
chord. 


This  diagram  re- 
presents a  vertical 
section  through  the 
larynx,  the  hinder 
part  of  which  Is  re- 
moved,  showing 
the      narrowing 
through      which 
the   breath    has 
to  pass. 


Right  vocal 
chord. 


feel  what  they  read,  and  thus  insisting  on  expressive 
and  therefore  interesting  speech. 

Cases  of  mouth-breathing,  usually  due  to  adenoid 
growths,  cannot  be  cured  by  the  teacher ;  but  it  is 
his  duty  to  take  the  earliest  possible  notice  of  such 
a  case,  and  to  ensure  that  those  in  charge  of  the 
child  are  warned  of  the  danger  incurred  by  delay 
in  consulting  a  medical  man. 


The  Vocal  Chords 


ii 


The  breath  on  leaving  the  lungs  passes  through 
the  windpipe — and  in  ordinary  breathing  there  is 
nothing  in  its  way.  In  speaking,  however,  there 
is  often  something  in  its  way :  a  beautiful  con- 
trivance, capable  of  the  most  varied  and  delicate 
adjustment,  and  known  as  the  vocal  chords.  They 
are  situated  where,  in  a  man,  we  see  the  "  Adam's 
apple." 

The  accompanying  illustration  will  serve  to  ex- 
plain their  nature.  It  will  be  seen  that  the  vocal 


View  of  the  voeai 
ehords  opened  to 
their  widest  extent, 
showing  the  windpipe 
to  its  bifurcation. 


chords  spring  from  both  sides  of  the  wind-pipe.  They 
are  really  rather  of  the  nature  of  flexible  ridges  or 
shallow  flaps  than  cords.  By  means  of  muscles  acting 
on  certain  cartilages  they  can  be  brought  closely  or 
lightly  together.  They  consist  of  a  soft  fleshy  part 
at  one  end,  and  a  harder  cartilaginous  part  at  the 
other. 

The  position  of  the  vocal  ehords,  in  other  words 
the  nature  of  the  glottis  (i.e.  the  opening  between 
the  vocal  chords),  modifies  the  breath  in  many  ways. 

When  they  are  apart,  in  what  we  may  call  the 
rest  position,  the  breath  passes  through  unhindered. 


12        The  Sounds  of  Spoken  English 

When  we  want  a  particularly  large  supply  of  breath, 
as  in  blowing,  we  keep  them  still  more  apart.  When 
we  wish  to  "  hold  our  breath,"  we  close  them  firmly. 
When  we  wish  to  "  clear  our  throat,"  we  press  them 
together  and  then  let  the  breath  come  out  in  jerks ; 
if  this  is  done  violently  and  (as  a  rule)  unintention- 
ally, a  cough  is  produced ;  sometimes  we  do  it 
slightly  before  the  opening  vowel  of  a  word  spoken 
emphatically  (this  is  commonly  the  case  in  German, 
and  is  known  as  the  "glottal  stop"). 

We  may  also  close  only  the  fleshy  ends,  and  leave 
the  cartilaginous  ends  open;  then  we  speak  in  a 
whisper. 

7.  If  we  neither  leave  the  vocal  chords  apart  nor 
bring  them  together  quite  closely,  but  let  them 
touch  lightly,  then  the  air  as  it  passes  out  will 
make  them  vibrate ;  and  breath  accompanied  by 
this  vibration  is  voice 1  in  the  narrower  application 
of  the  word.  In  ordinary  speech  this  vibration  is 
an  essential  part  of  all  vowels  and  of  many  conson- 
ants. They  are  accordingly  called  voiced 2  sounds ; 
those  produced  without  vibration  of  the  vocal  chords 
are  voiceless.3 

The  vibration  can  be  felt  in  several  ways.  Utter 
a  long  s  and  then  a  long  z  (the  sounds  at  the  beginning 
of  seal  and  zeal  respectively),  again  long  s,  again  long  z, 
and  so  on ;  at  the  same  time  put  your  fingers  to  your 
throat,  or  put  your  hands  to  both  ears,  or  lay  your 
hand  on  the  top  of  your  head,  and  you  cannot  fail 

1  Also  called  tone.  a  Or,  toned. 

3  Or,  untoned,  breathed. 


Voiced  and  Voiceless  Sounds          13 

to  notice  the  vibration  every  time  you  utter  z.  Try  it 
also  with  fvfvfv,  etc.,  and  with  the  sounds  written 
s  in  sure  and  z  in  azure,  and  the  sounds  written  th  in 
thistle  and  th  in  this.  Then  proceed  to  p  and  b,  t  and  d, 
k  and  g  (as  in  go).  Lastly,  utter  a  long  ah  with  full 
voice,  and  then  whisper  the  same  sound  softly. 
Ascertain  in  each  case  which  sound  is  accompanied 
by  vibration  of  the  vocal  chords. 

Utter  a  long  /  and  suddenly  separate  the  lower 
lip  from  the  upper  teeth,  and  nothing  more  will  be 
heard ;  but  utter  a  long  v  and  again  suddenly 
separate  the  lip  from  the  teeth,  and  you  will  hear 
the  "  voice,"  with  a  sound  like  the  [o]  described  in 
§  38.  (It  is  the  sound  uttered  when  we  hesitate  in 
our  speech,  and  is  usually  represented  in  writing  by 
«er  .  .  .  er.") 

It  is  important  that  the  vibration  should  be  good. 
If  it  is  slow,  the  pitch  will  be  low ;  if  it  is  quick,  the 
pitch  will  be  high.  But  whatever  the  pitch,  the 
vibration  must  be  uniform.  To  practise  this,  dwell 
on  various  voiced  sounds  for  a  long  time,  emitting 
the  breath  slowly  and  regularly. 

Only  the  voiced  sounds  can  be  produced  with 
varying  pitch  ;  they  are  musical,  the  rest  are  noises. 
Notice,  in  church  for  instance,  how  the  tune  is 
carried  by  the  voiced  sounds ;  the  voiceless  ones 
seem  to  break  the  course  of  the  tune. 

When  the  vocal  chords  are  short  they  vibrate 
more  quickly  than  when  they  are  long,  and  quicker 
vibrations  give  a  higher  pitch.  This  explains  why 
the  average  pitch  of  a  woman's  voice  is  higher  than 
that  of  a  man.  When  a  boy's  voice  "  breaks,"  this 


14        The  Sounds  of  Spoken  English 

is  due  to  certain  changes  affecting  his  vocal  chords ; 
it  is  important  that  the  voice  should  not  be  subjected 
to  any  excessive  strain  when  it  is  in  this  stage. 

Certain  affections  of  the  throat  interfere  with  the 
action  of  the  vocal  chords,  and  they  become  incapable 
of  vibrating;  then  we  "lose  our  voice."  When  we 
"lower  the  voice,"  we  make  the  vibrations  slower, 
and  lower  the  pitch.  When  we  "drop  the  voice 
to  a  whisper,"  we  are  intentionally  preventing 
them  from  vibrating.  This  much  diminishes  the 
carrying  power  of  the  voice,  and  we  thereby  ensure 
that  our  words  are  heard  only  by  those  who  are 
quite  close.  A  peculiar  variety  is  the  "  stage  aside," 
when  the  actor  tries  to  convey  the  impression  that 
his  words  are  not  heard  by  those  near  him,  yet 
desires  them  to  be  heard  by  the  spectators,  many  of 
whom  are  much  farther  away.  This  is  a  very  loud 
whisper;  it  naturally  requires  a  considerable  effort 
and  is  very  tiring. 

8,  The  breath  which  has  passed  between  the  vocal 
chords  and  issues  from  the  windpipe  passes 
through  the  mouth,  or  through  the  nose,  or  through 
both.  This  is  rendered  possible  by  a  soft  movable 
flap  which  can  at  will  be  made  to  close  the  way 
through  the  nose,  or — hanging  loosely — to  leave 
both  passages  open.  Take  a  small  mirror  and  look 
at  the  inside  of  your  mouth,  standing  so  that  as 
much  light  as  possible  falls  into  it ;  you  will  see  this 
flap,  the  velum,  hanging  down  with  a  kind  of  V  in 
the  centre,  the  lower  extremity  of  which  is  known 
as  the  wnda.  Still  watching  your  mouth,  inhale 


Through  the  Mouth  and  through  the  Nose  15 

through  the  nose  and  exhale  through  the  mouth ; 
see  how  the  velum  moves  as  you  do  this.  After  a 
little  while  try  to  move  the  velum,  closing  and  open- 
ing the  nose  passage,  without  uttering  a  sound  and 
without  breathing. 

In  French  there  are  four  nasal  vowels  (occurring  in 
un  Ion  vin  blanc)  in  which  the  velum  hangs  loose,  and 
breath  passes  through  nose  and  mouth.  In  standard 
English  such  vowels  do  not  exist,  but  another  form 
of  nasal  vowel,  producing  a  "twang,"  is  sometimes 
heard  in  many  forms  of  what  may  be  called  dialect 
speech.  The  Londoner  is  often  careless  about 
closing  the  nose  passage,  and  some  breath  is  allowed 
to  pass  out  by  that  way  so  as  to  be  perceptible  to 
the  ear  in  the  form  of  friction,  and  to  impair  the 
quality  of  the  vowels.  The  "  nasal  twang  "  is  very 
noticeable  in  some  forms  of  American  English. 

The  nasalising  tendency  may  also  be  observed 
in  untrained  singers  and  public  speakers ;  it  is 
undoubtedly  a  means  of  increasing  the  carrying 
power  of  the  voice,  and  of  reducing  the  effort  of 
making  oneself  understood  by  a  large  audience.  The 
same  effect  can,  however,  be  produced  by  training 
the  muscles  of  the  chest  by  means  of  breathing 
exercises,  and  with  more  agreeable  results  to  the  ear. 

Pupils  who  show  a  tendency  to  nasalising  can  be 
cured  by  frequent  exercises  in  uttering  the  mouth 
(or  oral)  vowels. 

It  is,  however,  maintained  by  some  teachers  of  voice  pro- 
duction that  the  best  vowel  sounds  are  produced  when  the 
velum  does  not  quite  prevent  the  passage  of  air  through  the 


1 6        The  Sounds  of  Spoken  English 

In  producing  a  nasal  consonant  (such  as  m),  we 
stop  the  breath  somewhere  in  the  mouth  (e.g.  at  the 
lips  when  we  utter  m),  and  let  it  pass  out  through 
the  nose. 

A  cold  in  the  nose  often  prevents  the  breath  from 
passing  through  it;  and  this  renders  it  impossible 
to  produce  the  nasal  consonants  m,  n,  and  ng  (as  in 
sing),  the  kindred  sounds  b,  d,  and  g  being  sub 
stituted  for  them.  A  similar  difficulty  is  experienced 
by  children  with  adenoid  growths.  This  is  commonly 
called  "speaking  through  the  nose";  it  is  just  the 
reverse. 

9.  In  speaking,  as  a  rule,  the  passage  to  the  nose  is 
closed  and  the  breath  finds  its  passage  through  the 
mouth.  The  shape  of  this  passage  can  be  modified 
in  many  ways,  because  several  organs  of  speech  are 
movable. 

The  lower  jaw  can  be  moved  up  and  down. 

The  lips  can  be  closed,  or  kept  lightly  touching, 
or  the  lower  lip  may  touch  the  upper  teeth ;  or  the 
lips  may  be  apart,  assuming  various  shapes,  from  a 
narrow  slit  to  a  large  or  small  circle.  They  may 
also  be  thrust  forward,  protruded. 

The  tongue  is  capable  of  an  even  greater  variety 
of  position.  Again  watch  the  inside  of  your  mouth 
by  means  of  your  little  mirror.  Say  e  (as  in  he),  a 
(as  in  father),  o  (as  in  who),  and  observe  the  move- 
ments of  your  tongue;  then  make  the  same  move- 
ments, but  without  uttering  the  sounds.  You  will 
soon  feel  how  your  tongue  moves,  without  needing 
to  look  at  it.  This  consciousness  of  the  muscular 


Vowel  and  Consonant  17 

action  of  your  tongue  is  valuable,  and  you  must 
take  pains  to  develop  it.  Watch  the  movements 
of  your  tongue  as  you  utter  other  vowel  sounds; 
they  will  be  treated  systematically  in  due  course. 

By  means  of  these  movable  organs  of  speech  the 
mouth  passage  assumes  various  forms ;  it  may  still 
be  wide  enough  to  leave  a  free  course  for  the 
breath,  or  it  may  be  quite  narrow,  or  it  may  be 
closed  at  some  point. 

If  the  passage  is  free,  the  result  is  a  vowel;  if 
not,  it  is  a  consonant.1 

If  the  passage  is  so  narrow  at  some  point  that  the  10. 
breath  cannot  pass  through  without  rubbing  or 
brushing,  we  have  a  continuant  (sometimes  called 
a  fricative).  Thus  when  we  say  /  or  v,  the  breath 
passes  out  through  the  teeth;  the  only  difference 
between  the  two  sounds  being  that  in  saying  v,  the 
breath  is  also  engaged  in  setting  the  vocal  chords 
vibrating.  Say  e  (as  in  he)  and  gradually  raise  the 
tongue  still  further,  thus  narrowing  the  passage ; 
you  will  reach  a  point  when  you  no  longer  produce 
a  vowel,  but  a  continuant,  namely  the  sound  heard 
at  the  beginning  of  yes.  These  sounds  are  called 
continuants,  because  we  can  prolong  them  at  will ; 
indeed,  we  can  dwell  011  them  until  no  more  breath 
is  left  in  the  lungs. 

If  the  passage  is  closed  altogether  at  some  point,  we  11. 
have  a  stop ;  the  breath  is  stopped.     Say  hope  or  wit 
or  luck  and  notice  how  in  each  case  there  is  a  closure 

1  This  definition  has  its  drawbacks,  as  will  be  seen  later. 
B 


1 8       The  Sounds  of  Spoken  English 

at  the  end.  Stops  consist  of  two  parts  :  the  closing 
of  the  passage,  and  the  subsequent  opening  of  it; 
this  opening  resembles  a  little  explosion,  and  stops  are 
accordingly  sometimes  called  plosives  or  explosives. 
Observe  that  the  ear  does  not  require  to  perceive  both 
the  closure  and  the  opening ;  one  is  enough  to  give 
the  impression  of  the  sound.  When  you  say  hope  or 
wtt  or  luck,  you  need  only  hear  the  olosing  of  the 
passage ;  you  can  leave  your  mouth  shut,  yet  to  the 
ear  the  word  will  seem  complete.  (The  sound  will, 
however,  carry  further  if  you  open  the  passage  again ; 
and  in  public  speaking  it  is  therefore  to  be  recom- 
mended.) Similarly,  in  uttering  the  words  pain,  tell, 
come,  only  the  opening  of  the  passage  is  audible ;  yet 
the  ear  is  satisfied.  In  the  middle  of  a  word  like 
night-time,  carefully  pronounced,  we  hear  both  the 
closure  and  the  opening ;  and  the  interval  between 
the  two  gives  our  ear  the  impression  that  there  are 
two  /'s.1  In  quick  speech,  however,  the  closure  is 
usually  inaudible  in  such  words  or,  more  correctly, 
the  sounds  overlap. 

The  narrowing  or  closing  of  the  passage  may  be 
effected  at  various  points.  The  lips  may  be  partially 
or  completely  closed ;  the  lower  lip  may  be  pressed 
against  the  upper  teeth  ;  different  parts  of  the  tongue 
may  be  pressed  against  the  teeth,  or  the  gums,  or 
the  palate.  Pass  your  finger  along  the  roof  of  your 
mouth,  and  notice  that  only  the  front  of  it  is  hard ; 
we  distinguish  the  hard  palate  and  the  soft  palate. 

When  we  are  eating  or  drinking,  the  food  passes 
1  Consider  what  happens   in   the  case   of  such   words  aa 
vintner,  lampman. 


Hearing  19 

down  the  gullet,  behind  the  windpipe.  To  prevent 
food  entering  the  windpipe,  which  causes  a  choking 
sensation  and  coughing,  there  is  the  epiglottis  (see 
the  diagram  on  p.  10),  a  cartilaginous  flap  which 
covers  the  top  of  it ;  this  flap  is  raised  when  we  are 
breathing.  Hence  the  wisdom  of  the  rule,  not  to 
speak  while  you  are  eating. 

In  order  that  speech  may  have  its  full  effect,  it  is  14 
necessary  that  the  hearer  should  hear  well ;  this  is 
by  no  means  so  common  as  is  generally  supposed. 
The  importance  of  testing  the  eyesight  is  now  recog- 
nised ;  but  the  hearing  is  usually  neglected.  Atten- 
tion must  be  drawn  to  this  matter,  as  teachers  often 
regard  pupils  as  inattentive  and  dull  and  reprimand 
them,  when  they  are  really  hard  of  hearing.  The 
teacher's  mistake  is  to  some  extent  pardonable,  be- 
cause the  defect  is  easily  overlooked,  especially  as  a 
pupil  may  hear  badly  in  one  ear  and  not  in  the  other, 
and  thus  seem  inattentive  only  when  the  teacher 
happens  to  be  standing  on  the  side  of  his  defective 
ear.  Further,  it  is  a  defect  which  often  varies  in 
intensity  from  day  to  day,  according  to  the  pupil's 
general  condition  of  health.  These  considerations 
point  to  the  urgent  necessity  of  instituting  an  in- 
spection of  the  hearing  in  our  schools.  The  teacher 
can  himself  apply  the  simple  test  of  seeing  at  what 
distance  the  pupil  is  able  to  hear  whispered  double 
numbers,  such  as  35,  81  ;  each  ear  should  be  tested 
separately,  a  cloth  being  pressed  against  the  other. 
The  teacher  will  note  down  the  two  distances  for 
each  pupil,  and  will  probably  be  surprised  at  the 


20        The  Sounds  of  Spoken  English 

variations  observed.  It  is  clear  that  defective  hear- 
ing should  constitute  a  strong  claim  for  a  front  seat  in 
the  class-room,  more  so  than  defective  eyesight,  which 
can  usually  be  rectified  by  the  use  of  suitable  spectacles. 
It  is  hardly  necessary  to  point  out  that  lack  of 
cleanliness  in  the  ears  may  interfere  with  the  hear- 
ing, and  that  carelessness  with  regard  to  the  teeth 
may  lead  to  their  loss  and  to  defects  of  speech, 
apart  from  other  unpleasant  consequences.  It  is 
clear  that  anything  in  the  nature  of  tight-lacing 
renders  good  breathing  impossible  ;  and  the  fashion 
of  letting  the  hair  cover  the  ears  is  also  to  be  dis- 
couraged, as  rendering  the  hearing  more  difficult. 
In  men,  tight  collars  and  belts  often  interfere  with 
the  breathing. 

15.  Lastly,  teachers  (particularly  male  teachers)  require 
to  be  warned  against  shouting  ;  this  only  tires  them 
and  irritates  the  nerves  of  their  pupils,  while  the 
same  object  can  be  achieved  by  careful  articulation. 
Where  it  is  used  "  to  keep  the  class  in  order,"  the 
teacher   should   earnestly   consider  how  it  is  that 
others  can   keep   order  without  shouting ;   usually 
his  difficulties  in  maintaining  discipline  are  due  to 
ill-health,  overstrain,  or  general  incapacity. 

When  the  throat  is  relaxed,  a  gargle  with  some 
astringent  will  be  found  a  simple  remedy ;  a  solution 
of  alum  in  water  may  be  recommended  for  this  pur- 
pose, or  a  bit  of  borax  may  be  held  in  the  cheek. 

16.  From  a  very  early  time  the  attempt  has  been  made 
to  represent  the  spoken  language  by  means  of  signs. 


The  Representation  of  Sounds        21 

Picture  writing  is  a  primitive  and  clumsy  expedient. 
It  was  a  great  step  forward  when  signs  were  used  to 
represent  syllables,  a  still  further  improvement  when 
a  separate  sign  was  used  for  each  separate  sound. 

At  first  writing  was  roughly  phonetic,  in  other 
words,  one  sign  was  intended  to  represent  one  sound 
(or  set  of  sounds),  and  one  only;  and  this  is  still 
what  is  required  of  an  ideal  alphabet.  It  is  a  com- 
monplace remark  that  the  English  alphabet  largely 
fails  to  fulfil  this  requirement.  The  same  sign  repre- 
sents different  sounds  (sign,  sure,  easy) ;  the  same  sound 
is  represented  by  different  signs  (catch,  foil,  queen, 
l&ck).  Some  signs  are  superfluous  (c,  x) ;  some- 
times a  sound  is  written,  but  not  pronounced  (lam&, 
knee) ;  sometimes  two  signs,  which  separately  ex- 
press two  sounds,  when  used  together  designate  a 
third  sound  altogether  different  from  these  two  (ch 
in  chat  and  rich). 

How  are  we  to  explain  this  bewildering  state  of  17, 
things  ? 

It  is  due  to  two  causes — the  natural  development 
of  the  language,  and  the  pedantic  interference  of  the 
learned. 

Language  is  constantly  changing.  The  rate  of 
change  is  not  perhaps  always  the  same,  but  change 
there  always  is.  As  we  have  seen  above,  the  older 
generation  and  the  younger  do  not  speak  exactly 
alike.  Now  the  changes  in  the  spoken  language  are 
gradual,  and  quite  unconscious;  but  a  change  in  the 
recognised  spelling  of  words  is  something  tangible. 
It  conflicts  with  a  habit  we  have  acquired. 


22        The  Sounds  of  Spoken  English 

In  mediaeval  times,  when  there  was  no  printing, 
no  daily  paper,  no  universal  compulsory  education, 
there  was  a  good  deal  of  freedom  in  the  spelling, 
and  people  wrote  very  much  as  they  pleased — 
phonetically,  if  they  were  not  spoilt  by  "a  little 
knowledge."  But  the  invention  of  printing  and  the 
dissemination  of  learning  changed  all  this.  A  uni- 
form spelling  came  to  be  recognised;  the  nation 
acquired  the  habit  of  regarding  it  as  correct,  and 
would  tolerate  no  deviation  from  it.  Though  it 
represents  the  pronunciation  of  a  former  age,  we  still 
use  it ;  and  we  are  quite  upset  when  we  read  the  spel- 
lings labor,  center,  therefor,  nay  even  when  two  words 
are,  contrary  to  our  usage,  run  together,  as  in  forever. 

When  our  spelling  received  its  present  form  not 
only  was  the  language  very  differently  pronounced, 
but  the  pedantic  had  already  been  able  to  wreak 
their  wicked  will  on  it.  Thus  the  "  learned  "  men 
of  mediaeval  France  spelled  parfaict,  though  the  c  of 
Latin  perfection  had  developed  into  the  t  of  parfait, 
and  they  did  not  pronounce  the  c  which  they  intro- 
duced into  the  spelling.  The  word  passed  into 
English,  and  here  also  the  c  was  at  first  only  written ; 
later  on  it  came  to  be  pronounced.  The  "  learned  " 
similarly  introduced  a  ft  into  the  French  words  douter 
and  dette  (because  of  the  Latin  dubitare  and  debita), 
but  had  the  good  sense  to  drop  it ;  we  have  it  still 
in  doubt  and  debt,  though  we  leave  it  unpronounced. 
In  later  times  we  find  something  similar :  the  learned 
force  us  to  spell  philosophy  with  ph  and  not  /. 
The  word  comes  from  Greek  through  Latin  ;  the 
Greeks  pronounced  the  ph  actually  as  p  plus  h  at  the 


English  Spelling  23 

time  when  the  Romans  took  to  spelling  Greek  words 
in  their  language,  and  these  continued  to  spell  ph 
even  when  the  Greeks  no  longer  pronounced  p  plus 
h,  but/,  as  we  do  now. 

The  subject  of  spelling  reform  is  not  within  the  18. 
scope  of  this  book;  but  it  presents  itself  naturally 
to  all  who  take  an  intelligent  interest  in  the  lan- 
guage. It  seems  probable  that  much  good  will 
be  achieved  by  the  Simplified  Spelling  Society 
(44  Great  Russell  Street,  London,  W.C. ;  annual 
subscription  from  Is.),  which  has  been  recently 
established  and  will  undoubtedly  profit  by  the  ex- 
perience of  the  sister  society  in  the  United  States. 
Such  spellings  as  wel,  ful,  tlw,  thru,  bred,  adiv,  will 
surely  commend  themselves  as  soon  as  the  eye  of 
the  man  in  the  street  has  been  made  familiar 
with  them  and  the  etymological  sentimentalist  has 
realised  the  astounding  weakness  of  his  arguments. 

However  distant  may  be  a  complete  reform,  it  is 
certainly  helpful  to  be  conscious  of  the  evil;  only 
thus  can  we  neutralize  some  of  its  bad  effects.  The 
most  obvious  of  these  is  the  lack  of  ear  training 
in  our  schools,  where  the  mother  tongue  has  been 
learnt  on  the  basis  of  the  written  and  not  the  spoken 
language.  The  only  method  for  teaching  English 
reading  and  writing  which  can  commend  itself  to  the 
student  of  the  language  no  less  than  to  the  student 
of  childhood  is  the  method  identified  with  the  name 
of  Miss  Dale.  Apart  from  the  sympathy  and  love 
of  children  pervading  all  her  work,  it  is  of  unusual 
importance  because  she  has  solved  the  problem  of 


24        The  Sounds  of  Spoken  English 

starting  from  the  spoken  language,  while  avoiding 
all  phonetic  symbols. 

19.  It  is,  however,  convenient  for  the  student  of  phon- 
etics to  have  a  set  of  generally  accepted  signs  ;  other- 
wise he  would  be  unable  to  express  in  writing  the 
pronunciation  in   such  a  way  that  other  students 
could  understand  what  he  meant.    Without  phonetic 
symbols  the  designation  of  sounds  becomes  awkward. 
It  was  one  of  Miss  Dale's  many  happy  thoughts  to 
connect  sounds  and  their  written  form  with  definite 
words,  for  instance  the  "moon  oo  "  and  the  "fern  er"; 
but  however  suitable  that  is  for  the  little  ones,  it  is 
inconvenient  for  the  grown-up  student. 

There  are  many  phonetic  alphabets ;  all  else  being 
equal,  the  one  most  widely  used  is  clearly  the  most 
valuable.  We  have  therefore  chosen  for  this  book 
the  alphabet  of  the  Association  phonetique  Inter- 
nationale, which  is  already  well  known  in  England 
owing  to  its  use  in  a  number  of  books  for  elementary 
instruction  in  French,  German,  and  even  Latin.  It 
will  commend  itself  to  the  student  by  its  great  sim- 
plicity. What  will  really  present  difficulty  is  rather 
the  determination  of  the  actual  nature  of  the  spoken 
word,  than  the  representation  of  the  sounds  when 
once  determined. 

20.  We  now  give  the  sounds  occurring  normally  in 
standard  English,  and    their   phonetic   signs;   the 
signs   for  consonants  which   are   likely  to  be   un- 
familiar are  enclosed. 


Signs  for  the  Consonants 


Consonants. 

b 

as  in 

bat     rabble 

tab 

P 

m 

as  in 

as  in 

pat     apple 
man   hammer 

tap 

lamb 

d 

as  in 

dab    bidden 

bad 

t 
n 

as  in 
as  in 

tap     bitten 
nut    winner 

pat 
tun 

g 
k 

as  in 
as  in 

gut    waggle 
cat    tackle 

tug 
tack 

D 

as  in 

singer 

sing 

w 

as  in 

wit 

leave 

»* 

as  in 

when 

V 

as  in 

van      never 

f 

as  in 

fan      stiffer 

leaf 

» 

as  in 

this      leather 

clothe 

0 

as  in 

thistle  Ethel 

cloth 

z     as  in     zeal      easel       lose 
s     as  in     seal      lesson     lease 


3     asm 


leisure    rouge 


\ 

as  in 

shed  ashes   dash 

j 

as  in 

yes 

T     as  in     red       very 

1      as  in     lip       pallor    pitt 

h    as  in     hot 

1  It  ia  doubtful  whether  thus  can  be  called  a  sound  of  stan- 
dard English  ;  see  §  31. 


26       The  Sounds  of  Spoken  English 

Vowels. 

Attention  should  be  paid  to  the  signs  for  these,  as  many 
are  unfamiliar.  The  examples  given  will  convey  only 
a  general  idea  of  the  sounds,  which  are  discussed  in 
detail  in  §  36  and  foil.  The  sign  i  indicates  length, 
and  '  half  length. 

i:  is  the  first  vowel  sound  J  in  bead. 

I  is  the  vowel  sound  in  bit. 

ei  is  the  first  vowel  sound l  in  braid. 

e  is  the  vowel  sound  in  bet. 

e:  is  the  first  vowel  sound  in  fairy. 

SB  is  the  vowel  sound  in  bat. 

a  is  the  first  vowel  sound l  in  bout,  bite. 

a:  is  the  first  vowel  sound  in  father. 

01  is  the  first  vowel  sound  in  glory. 

o  is  the  vowel  sound  in  pot. 

o  is  the  first  vowel  sound x  in  boat. 

u:  is  the  first  vowel  sound  l  in  rude. 

U  is  the  vowel  sound  in  put. 

91  is  the  vowel  sound  in  burn. 

Q  is  the  second  vowel  sound  in  better. 

A  is  the  vowel  sound  in  but. 

1  It  ia  most  important  that  you  should  not  confuse  sound 
with  letter.  Thus  in  lead  we  have  the  letters  e  and  a,  which 
represent  vowels  in  bed  and  bad  ;  but  the  e  in  bead  has  quite 
a  different  value  from  the  e  in  bed.  The  two  letters  ea  in  bead 
together  represent  two  sounds  which  are  described  in  §  42, 


Signs  for  the  Vowels  27 

The  following  sentences  written  in  the  conventional 
and  the  phonetic  spelling  will  give  some  idea  of  the 
use  of  this  alphabet  for  representing  connected  speech 
as  spoken  (a)  very  carefully,  (6)  quite  colloquially. 

For  purposes  of  convenience  the  I  and  tr  are  not  used  in 
ordinary  transcript,  as  there  is  no  danger  of  confusion. 

(a)  The  serious    student    of  phonetics    soon  grows 
So  si9rjas  stjuwdontW  fo'netiks2  suwn  grouz 

interested  in  the  subject,    and  every  fresh  speaker 
interested   in    So  SAbdsikt,  send  evri    frej     spijke1 

presents    new    materials  for  study. 
pri'zents  njuw  ma'tii'riolz  fo   stAdi. 

(i)  Did  you  hear  what  he  told  me  last  night? 
hi9     wot    i    toul  mi  lais  nait? 


1  In  the  Specimens  of  English  the  diphthongs  here  represented 
by  [uw]  and  [ij]  are  simply  printed  [u:]  and  [i:]. 

2  Observe  that  the  accent  [  '  ]  precedes  the  stressed  syllable. 
In  the  Specimens  of  English  the  vowel  of  the  stressed  syllable 
is  printed  in  this  type. 


THE  SOUNDS  CONSIDERED  SEPARATELY 
Consonants —stops. 

21.  The  sounds  which  present  least  difficulty  to  the 
student  are  the  stops,  in  producing  which  the  flow 
of  breath  is  completely  checked.  We  have  already 
seen  in  §  1 1  that  every  stop,  strictly  speaking,  consists 
of  three  parts,  the  closing  and  the  opening  of  the 
passage  and  the  pause  between,  and  that  only  the 
closing  or  only  the  opening  need  be  heard  for  the 
ear  to  distinguish  the  sound.  The  interval  between 
the  closure  and  the  opening  may  be  noticeable,  in 
which  case  we  call  the  consonant  double. 

Stops  may  be  voiced  or  voiceless,  that  is,  they 
may  be  produced  with  or  without  vibration  of  the 
vocal  chords  (see  §  7). 

Stops  may  be  produced  by  stopping  the  breath  at 
some  point  in  the  mouth  and  then  letting  it  burst 
through  the  obstacle ;  these  are  oral  stops. 

The  breath,  stopped  at  some  point  in  the  mouth, 
may  be  allowed  to  pass  out  through  the  nose ;  the 
sounds  thus  produced  are  called  nasal. l 

Utter  the  following  sounds,  and  determine  whether 
they  are  voiced  or  voiceless,  oral  or  nasal : 

[p,  g,  n,  t,  b,  k,  m,  d,  T).]2 

1  For  the  sake  of  convenience  the  nasal  sounds,  in  producing 
which  the  breath  does  not  also  pass  out  through  the  mouth, 
i.e.  which  are  not  nasal  vowels  (see  §  8),  are  included  under 
"stops." 

2  Sounds    in    phonetic    transcript   are   enclosed    in   square 
brackets. 

38 


Lip  Stops  29 

According  to  the  place  of  articulation  we  dis- 
tinguish lip l  stops,  point 2  stops,  front  (palate) 3  stops 
and  back  (palate) 4  stops. 

Lip  stops. — When  the  breath  is  stopped  at  the  22. 
lips,  three  different  sounds  may  be  produced. 

1.  [p],  when  there  has  been  no  vibration  of  the 
vocal  chords. 

In  precise  or  emphatic  speech,  sufficient  breath 
escapes  after  the  opening  of  the  passage  to  give  the 
effect  of  [h]5;  thus  Pay,  pay/6  [phei,  phei].  This 
occurs  mostly  before  accented  vowels,  and  sometimes 
finally  7 :  I  hope  [ai  houph].8 

[p]  is  written  p  or  pp ;  rarely  ph  (as  in  a  common 
pronunciation  of  diphtheria  [dipflii'ria],  for  which  see 
§27). 

Notice  the  spelling  of  hiccough  [hikAp]. 

2.  [b],  when  there  has  been  vibration  of  the  vocal 
chords. 

[b]  is  written  b  or  bb. 

3.  [m],  when  the  velum  is  lowered  and  part  of  the 
breath  passes  out  through  the  nose.    (Generally  speak- 

1  Also  called  labial.   2  Also  called  dental.    3  Also  called  palatal. 

4  Also  called  velar  (from  velum,  for  which  see  §  8)  and  more 
usually,  but  less  accurately,  guttural. 

8  An  oral  stop  followed  by  [h]  is  called  an  aspirate.  Aspi- 
rates are  common  in  German,  but  practically  unknown  in 
standard  French. 

6  Examples  in  the  conventional  spelling  are  printed  in  italics. 

T  i.e.  at  the  end  of  a  word,  before  a  pause. 

8  When  the  aspiration  is  strongly  marked,  it  forms  a  charac- 
teristic of  the  speech  of  the  lower  middle  class  in  London  and 
some  home  counties. 


30       The  Sounds  of  Spoken  English 

ing,  this  sound  is  voiced ;  but  when  it  is  immediately 
followed  by  a  voiceless  sound,  it  may  be  partly  voiced, 
then  voiceless  (phonetic  sign :  m).  Then  lamp  is 
strictly  [Isemmp].  We  may  say  :  [m]  is  unvoiced  or 
devocalized  before  a  voiceless  stop.)  Notice  the 
difference  in  length  of  [m]  in  lamb,  hammer,  glum, 
moon ;  in  which  of  these  words  is  it  short  ? 

In  comfort,  triumph  the  [m]  is  often  labiodental :  the 
breath  is  stopped  by  the  upper  teeth  and  lower  lip, 
not  by  both  lips. 

In  prism,  schism  the  m  may  have  syllabic  value ; 
it  then  does  the  work  usually  performed  by  a  vowel. 
We  say  [prizam]  or  [prizm],  where  [m]  is  the  sign 
for  syllabic  m. 

[m]  is  written  m  or  mm. 

23.  In  the  production  of  the  lip  stops  the  tongue  plays 
no  part,  except  by  leaving  a  free  passage ;  but  it  is 
active  in  the  production  of  the  stops  we  next  have 
to  consider.  This  is  therefore  the  right  place  to  give 
the  names  by  which  we  designate  the  various  parts 
of  the  tongue.  We  distinguish 

the  point, 

the  blade  (above  and  behind  the  point  when  the 
tongue  lies  flat), 

the  front  (yet  further  behind),  and 

the  back ;  also 

the  ridge  or  dorsum  (an  imaginary  line  drawn 
along  the  middle  of  the  top  of  the  tongue  from  end 
to  end),  and 

the  rim  (running  all  round  the  edge  of  the  tongue 
when  it  lies  flat). 


Point  Stops  31 

When  the  narrowing  or  closure  of  the  passage  is 
made  by  the  front  rim  of  the  tongue,  we  say  it  is  of 
apical  formation ;  when  it  is  made  by  the  surface  of 
the  tongue  behind  the  front  rim,  we  say  it  is  of  dorsal 
formation. 

Point  stops.1 — The  breath  is  stopped  by  the  action  24 
of  the  point  of  the  tongue  touching  the  teeth  (in 
which  case  we  have  true  dentals)  or  the  upper  gums 
(this  is  known  as  alveolar  articulation,  "alveoli" 
being  the  learned  word  for  the  gums).  In  English 
the  point  of  the  tongue  rarely  touches  the  teeth ; 
usually  it  touches  the  upper  gums,  sometimes  the 
hard  palate  (this  should  be  avoided),  in  which  case 
it  approaches  [k].  See  the  diagram  on  p.  126. 

Hence  in  careless  speech  at  last  sometimes  becomes 
[Vklaist].2  Little  children  are  heard  to  say  [ikl]  for 
little ;  compare  also  the  change  from  Latin  tremere  to 
French  craindre. 

Three  different  sounds  may  be  produced  with  this 
stoppage : 

1.  [t],  when  there  has  been  no  vibration  of  the 
vocal  chords. 

In  precise  or  emphatic  speech,  sufficient  breath 
escapes  after  the  opening  of  the  passage  to  give  the 
effect  of  [h];  thus  take  it!  [theik  it].  This  occurs 
mostly  before  accented  vowels,  and  sometimes  finally ; 
he  sent  me  such  a  charming  note  [hi  sent  mi  sAtJ  0 
t$a:miT)  nouth].3 

1  The  point  stops  are  also  called  teeth  or  dental  stops. 
8  On  the  other  hand,  in  Somerset  dean,  clod  are  sometimes 
pronounced  with  [tl-].  *  See  footnote  8  on  page  29. 


32        The  Sounds  of  Spoken  English 

In  certain  kinds  of  uneducated  southern  English 
speech  [t]  is  occasionally  dropped  between  vowels, 
in  such  words  as  vxUer,  butter. 

[t]  is  written  t  or  ti;  d  in  the  ed  of  verbs  after 
voiceless  sounds,  as  in  stopped  [stopt] ;  rarely  th,  in 
words  of  foreign  origin. 

2.  [d],  when  there  has  been  vibration  of  the  vocal 
chords. 

[d]  is  written  d  or  dd. 

3.  [n],  when  the  velum  is  lowered  and  the  breath 
passes  out  through  the  nose.     (Generally  speaking, 
this  sound  is  voiced ;   but  when  it  is  immediately 
preceded  or  followed  by  a  voiceless  sound,  it  may 
become  voiceless  (n)  in  part.     Then  sneer  is  strictly 
[snnio],  hint  [hinnt].)   Notice  the  difference  in  length 
of  [n]  in  mine,  awn,  manner,  an,  name ;  in  which  of 
these  words  is  it  long] 

In  month,  anthem  the  [n]  is  a  true  dental :  the 
tongue  touches  the  teeth. 

In  listen,  open  we  may  have  syllabic  n  [n].  Compare 
what  was  said  about  syllabic  m  in  §  22. 

[n]  is  written  n  or  nn. 

25.      Front  and  back  stops. — The  breath  is  stopped  by 
some  part  of  the  ridge  of  the  tongue  meeting 
the  front  or  hard  palate,  giving  front  stops ;  or 
the  back  or  soft  palate,  giving  back  stops. 
Say  [ku]  and  then  [ki];   now  whisper  them.      In 
which  case  is  the  closure  more  forward    in    the 
mouth?     Compare  with  these    the  place  of  closure 
when  you  say  [ka]. 


Front  and  Back  Stops  33 

From  these  examples  it  will  be  seen  that  the 
effect  for  the  ear  is  very  much  the  same,  and  we 
shall  here  make  use  of  the  same  signs  for  front  and 
back  stops. 

In  cockney,  speech  there  is  a  distinct  tendency  to 
make  the  closure  so  far  forward  that  the  [k,  g]  are 
perceptibly  modified.  (This  pronunciation  is  sug- 
gested by  the  spelling  gyarden,  kyind,  employed  by 
those  who  try  to  represent  cockney  speech.)  The 
"  palatalizing  "  tendency  is  not  to  be  encouraged ;  a 
more  effective  [k]  is  produced  by  distinctly  back- 
ward articulation.  Slight  variations  in  the  place  of 
closure  due  to  the  place  of  articulation  of  neigh- 
bouring sounds  in  a  word  are  inevitable. 

Three  different  sounds  may  be  produced  with  this 
stoppage. 

1.  [k],  when  there  has  been  no  vibration  of  the 
vocal  chords. 

In  precise  or  emphatic  speech,  sufficient  breath 
escapes  after  the  opening  of  the  passage  to  give  the 
effect  of  [h] ;  thus  come,  come  I  [khAm,  khAm].  This 
occurs  mostly  before  accented  vowels,  sometimes 
finally,  give  him  a  good  shake  I  [giv  im  9  gud  Jeik11].1 

[k]  is  written  c,  k,  ck,  cc  (as  in  accuse  [eTrjuwz]), 
ch  (as  in  chord  [ko:d]),  q  (as  in  queen  [kwijn]) ;  [ks] 
as  ks,  cc,  x,  xc. 

2.  [g],  when  there  has  been  vibration  of  the  vocal 
chords. 

Sometimes  [g]  is  pronounced  with  the  tip  of  the 

1  See  footnote  8  on  page  29. 
O 


34       The  Sounds  of  Spoken  English 

tongue  so  that  it  sounds  like  [d] ;  thus  glory  becomes 
dlory  [dloiri].  The  way  in  which  [1]  is  produced 
(see  §  33)  explains  this. 

[g]  is  written  g  and  gg\  rarely  gh  (as  in  ghost 
[goust]).  For  [ks]  and  [gz]  written  x  see  §  30. 

3.  [D],  when  the  velum  is  lowered  and  the  breath 
passes  out  through  the  nose.  (Generally  speaking, 
this  sound  is  voiced;  but  when  it  is  immediately 
followed  by  a  voiceless  sound,  it  may  be  at  first 
voiced,  then  voiceless  [g] ;  the  [rj]  may  be  unvoiced 
(see  §  23,  3)  before  a  voiceless  stop.  Then  length  is 
strictly  [lerjijfl]  °r  [leDDk#]-)  Notice  the  difference 
in  length  of  [T>]  in  sing,  singer,  drink,  bang ;  in  which 
of  these  words  is  it  short  ? 

[T)]  is  written  ng,  as  in  long  [torj],  and  n  before  g, 
k,  or  x,  as  in  longer  [lorjge],  lank  [laegk],  lynx  [lipks]. 
What  does  ng  represent  in  singer  1  in  jwgvr'(  in 
English  1 

The  "  dropping  of  g  "  is  really  an  incorrect  term. 
There  is  no  [g]  in  the  ending  -ing  [19] ; l  what  does 
take  place  is  the  substitution  of  [n]  for  [g].  This 
occurs  in  baby  speech,  in  vulgar  speech,  and  in  the 
speech  of  some  sections  of  society.  It  is  on  no 
account  to  be  tolerated. 

The  opposite  mistake  is  made  only  by  the  un- 
educated, who  pronounce  kitchen  as  [kitjii)],  chicken 
as  [tjikii)],  and  sudden  as  [sAdii)]. 

Notice  the  substitution  of  this  sound  by  the  un- 
educated for  the  unfamiliar  palatal  nasal  [p]  in 

1  In  standard  English  ;  in  certain  dialects  the  ending  -ing 
is  always  pronounced 


Lip  Continuants  35 

Boulogne  [buloji],  the  uneducated  [bulorjj^and  for 
the  equally  unfamiliar  nasal  vowel  [a]  in  the  French 
word  continent  [kotina],  the  uneducated  [kontinoi}]. 

For  [n]  becoming  [m]  or  [g]  by  assimilation,  see 
§49. 

Consonants — continuants. 

It  will  be  seen  that  the  articulations   of  these  26. 
sounds  are  more  difficult  to  analyse  than  those  of 
the  stops.     There   is,  roughly  speaking,  only  one 
way  of  closing  a  passage  entirely;   but  there  are 
various  ways  of  closing  it  partially. 

The  continuants  usually  go  in  pairs,  one  being 
voiceless,  the  other  voiced. 

Lip  continuants. — The  breath  passes  between  the 
two  lips  (hence  the  term  bilabials) ;  the  tongue  is  in 
a  position  somewhat  closer  than  the  [u]  position,  i.e. 
bunched  up  at  the  back  (see  §  43),  and  we  may  there- 
fore call  these  sounds  lip-velar  continuants. 

The  voiced  sound  [w]  is  that  commonly  used  in 
standard  English,  whether  the  spelling  be  w  or  wh. 
In  northern  English  and  in  Scotch  the  voiceless  [AI] 
is  used  where  the  ordinary  spelling  has  wh. 

It  is  very  doubtful  whether  [&.]  has  a  right  to  be 
regarded  as  a  normal  sound  in  standard  English. 
It  is  taught  by  professors  of  elocution,  and  is 
therefore  commonly  heard  at  recitals  and  also  at 
amateur  theatricals.  On  the  regular  stage  it  is  by 
no  means  the  rule,  and  in  the  pulpit  it  is  probably 
the  exception.  If  it  comes  naturally  to  pupils,  who 
bring  it  with  them  from  the  North,  they  need  not 
be  interfered  with ;  there  is  certainly  no  good  reason 

1  The  educated  commonly  say  [buloun] ;  [buloin]  is  also  heard. 


36        The  Sounds  of  Spoken  English 

why  it  should  be  forced  on  speakers  of  southern 
English,  who  generally  produce  a  grossly  exagge- 
rated and  quite  ludicrous  travesty  of  the  northern 
sound.  Which  do  you  use  yourself1?  If  [AY],  is  it 
natural  to  you,  or  acquired?  Do  the  rest  of  your 
family  use  it?  Any  of  your  friends?  What  pro- 
portion of  children  in  your  class? 

It  may  be  noted  that  after  voiceless  sounds  [AY] 
sometimes  takes  the  place  of  [w],  even  in  standard 
English;  twenty  is  pronounced  [twenti]  or  [tAienti] 
and  swim  [swim]  or  [sAiim].  Sometimes  also  the 
sound  [AY]  is  heard  in  where  pronounced  with  great 
emphasis,  in  the  case  of  speakers  who  do  not  ordi- 
narily use  it. 

It  should  be  noted  that  these  sounds  are  not  con- 
tinuants in  the  strict  sense  of  the  term,  for  the  lips 
are  gradually  brought  nearer  and  gradually  drawn 
apart.  The  sounds  do  not  continue  in  the  same 
position  at  all ;  hence  they  have  been  described  as 
"gliding,"  not  "held." 

The  word  conquer  is  sometimes  pedantically  pro- 
nounced [korjkwo]  instead  of  [korjke] ;  but  it  is  the 
rule  to  sound  the  [w]  in  conquest.  Compare  liquor 
[like],  exchequer  [eks'tjeke]. 

A  w  has  often  influenced  a  following  a.  Consider 
the  following  cases : 

was,  warm,  squabble,  quality,  quack,  quarrel,  qua/, 
wasp,  water,  waft,  walk,  swallow. 

27.  Lip  teeth  continuants. — The  breath  passes  be- 
tween the  lower  lip  and  the  upper  teeth  (also 
between  the  interstices  of  the  upper  teeth);  the 


Lip  Teeth  Continuants  37 

sounds  produced  in  this  way  are  also  called   labio- 
dentals. 

The  voiceless  sound  [f]  is  usually  written  /  or  ff, 
also  ph  (in  words  taken  from  Greek) ;  note  also  the 
gh  in  laugh,  etc. 

Notice  our  reluctance  to  pronounce  phth  [f#],  as 
shown  in  the  dropping  of  ph  in  phthisis,  and  the 
frequent  substitution  of  p  for  ph  in  diphtheria, 
diphthong,  naphtha,  ophthalmia,  which  is,  however, 
avoided  by  careful  speakers. 

The  voiced  sound  [v]  is  usually  written  t>. 

Sounds  very  like  [f,  v]  can  be  produced  with 
both  lips.  Though  they  do  not  ordinarily  occur 
in  Engb'sh,  it  will  be  good  practice  for  you  to 
produce  them. 

When  [v]  is  final,  it  is  not  voiced  to  the  end,  but 
passes  into  whispered  [v]  (symbol  y),  which  sounds 
very  much  like  voiceless  [f] ;  in  other  words,  the 
vocal  chords  cease  to  vibrate  before  the  breath 
ceases  to  pass  between  the  lower  lip  and  the  upper 
teeth.  We  may  say :  final  [v]  is  devocalised. 

Observe  thief,  but  thieves  and  to  thieve ;  loaf,  but 
loaves ;  shelf,  but  shelves  and  to  shelve. 

The  ph  in  nephew  is  pronounced  [v],  but  [f]  is 
heard  in  dialects. 

Point  continuants. — We  have  seen  above  (§  24)  28. 
that  in  English  the  tongue,  as  a  matter  of  fact, 
rarely   touches    the    teeth    in    the    case    of    point 
stops.    Similarly  the  narrowing  of  the  passage  which 
leads  to  the  production  of  point  continuants  (except 


38        The  Sounds  of  Spoken  English 


is  not  necessarily  between  the  tongue  and  the 
teeth ;  in  some  cases  it  is  indeed  a  good  deal  farther 
back. 

The  point  continuants  include : 

1.  The  hushing,  hissing,1  and  lisping  sounds,  and 
the  r  sounds,  in  which  the  place  of  articulation  is 
along  the  middle  line  of  the  mouth  (medial  forma- 
tion); and 

2.  The  I  sounds,  the  narrowing  for  which  is  be- 
tween the  side  rim  or  rims  of  the  tongue  and  the 
side  teeth  (lateral  formation). 

The  r  sounds  and  the  I  sounds  are  sometimes  called 
liquids. 

29.  The  hushing  sounds. — For  the  production  of  the 
sh  sounds  the  passage  is  narrowed  between  the  blade 
(see  §  23)  of  the  tongue  and  the  hard  palate.  A  broad 
current  of  air  is  broken  against  the  edge  of  the  teeth. 
There  is  some  friction  between  the  tongue  and  the 
gums,  but  that  against  the  front  teeth  is  more 
noticeable. 

Watch  a  Frenchman  uttering  these  sounds,  and 
see  what  he  does  with  his  lips.  Do  you  use  your 
lips  in  the  same  way? 

The  voiceless  [J]  is  usually  written  sh ;  also  s  after 
consonants  (as  in  tension  [tendon],  censure  [senja]). 
It  is  written  ss,  c  or  t  before  a  front  vowel  (e  or  t), 
(as  in  passion  [psejan],  capricious  [ke'prijos],  station 
[steijon]).  In  all  these  cases  [J]  arose  from  [sj]. 

1  The  hashing  and  hissing  sounds  are  also  called  sibilants. 


The  Hushing  Sounds  39 

Observe  the  colloquial  pronunciation  of  this  year 
as  [SiJ  J9i] ;  six  years  [sik$  jaiz]. 

The  combination  [tj]  is  very  common,  and  is  usually 
written  ch  or  tch.  In  some  cases  it  arises  from  [tj], 
when  /  follows  the  chief  accent  of  the  word  and 
precedes  either  a  front  vowel  (e  or  i)  or  ul  which 
goes  back  to  [jui]  (as  in  righteous  [raitjos],  nature 
[neitjo]).  The  combination  [kj]  similarly  goes 
back  to  [ksj]  in  anxious  [seijkjas]  (notice  anxiety 
[ser)(g)'zai9ti]).  Luxury  is  [Lvk$ori],  but  luxurious  is 
[log'zuirias]  or  [Igg'zjuirios],  sometimes  [leg'suirios]. 

The  pronunciation  of  associate  as  [Vsousieit],2 
officiate  as  [o'fisieit],  instead  of  [o'soujieit,  o'fijieit],  is 
pedantic ;  [pro'pisieit]  is  also  faulty  for  [pro'pijieit]. 

The  voiced  [3]  standing  alone  between  vowels  is 
not  common  in  English,  being  found  only  where  s 
is  followed  by  a  front  vowel,  or  by  u  which  goes 
back  to  [ju:].  Here  the  development  is  from  [sj] 
to  [zj]  and  then  to  [3].  Examples  are  vision  [vison], 
measure  [me^o].  The  spelling  z  is  found  only  in 
azure  [8639]  or  [eisjo],  sometimes  [aesjuo]. 

Observe  the  careless  pronunciation  of  as  usual  as 
[863  juwsuol],  praise  ye  the  Lord  as  [preis  jij  So  lo:d]. 
India  rubber  is  generally  pronounced  [indso  rAbo]. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  combination  [ds]  is  quite 
common.  This  is  written  j  (as  in  jet  [dset]),  g  before 
e  or  i  (as  in  gem  [dsem],  gin  [dsin],  age  [eids] ; 
observe  also  gaol  [dseilj),  and  sometimes  dg  (as  in 

1  See  also  §  45. 

'Some  speakers  say  (Vsoujieit]  but  [e'sousieijen], 
[i'nAnJieit]  but 


40       The  Sounds  of  Spoken  English 

edge  [eds]).     It   is   spelled   ch   in  ostrich,  sandwich, 
Greenwich,  Harwich,  Woolwich,  and  in  spinach. 

What  is  the  value  of  ng  in  the  following  words : — 
hang,  longing,  lounging,  language,  engage,  hunger,  hinge  ? 

30.  The  hissing  sounds. — Distinguish  clearly  the  voice- 
less [s]  as  in  seal&nd  the  voiced  [z]  as  in  zeal.  Compare 
the  manner  of  production  of  the  hissing  and  the 
hushing  sounds :  utter  [$]  and  [s].  (Why  will  these 
show  the  distinction  more  clearly  than  [3]  and  [z]  T) 
You  will  find  that  the  breath  is  more  widely  diffused 
when  you  utter  [J] ;  in  producing  [s]  your  tongue 
forms  a  narrow  channel  and  the  breath  is.  thus 
directed  against  a  point.  See  the  diagram  on  p.  126. 
The  usual  spelling  of  both  voiceless  [s]  and  voiced 
[z]  is  s.  Notice  that 

1 .  The  s  of  inflections  is  [z]  after  a  voiced  sound : 
compare  fills  [filz],  glances  [glamsiz],  dogs  [dogz),  faces 
[feisiz],  but  hits  [hits],  cats  [ksets], 

2.  The  final  s  of  some  words  of  one  syllable  is  [z] : 
as,  has,  is,  his,  was ;  but  this,  us. 

3.  Sometimes  the  verb  has  [z],  the  substantive  or 
adjective  [s] : 

use  (j'uwz]  use  [juws] 

diffuse  [di'fjuwz]  diffuse  [di'fjuws] 

close  [klouz]  close  [klous] 

lose  [luwz]  loose  [luws] 

(Notice  the  difference  in  the  length  of  the  vowel.) 
1  Many  pronounce  [tj]  in  sandwich,  [ds]  in  sandwiches. 


The  Hissing  Sounds  41 

4.  Notice  also  that  we  have 

w  w 

in  reserve  in  research 

disease  disobey 

dissolve  dissolvent,  dissolute 

presumption  presuppose 

Find  other  examples  (there  are  many).  How  do 
you  pronounce  disarm  1 

5.  x  represents  [ks] 

in  exercise,  excellent,  and  in  extra,  exceed,  express,  extol, 
but  [gzj  in  exert,  examine,  anxiety,  exult,  exonerate,  ex- 
orbitant, exotic. 

Do  you  agree  with  this  statement  ? 

Try  to  find  a  rule  for  the  pronunciation  of  x. 

In  exile  both  pronunciations  of  x  may  be  heard, 
[ks]  being  perhaps  the  more  common. 

For  the  dropping  of  h  in  compounds  with  ex-  see 
§47. 

The  voiceless  [s]  is  usually  written  5,  but  also  ss, 
and  c  or  sc  before  e  and  i  (as  in  city,  scene,  but  not  in 
sceptic  [skeptik]). 

Say  which  of  the  sounds  [$,  3,  t$,  ds,  s,  z]  occur  in 
the  following  words : 

church,  machine,  ledger,  leisure,  seizure,  cease,  ease, 
scissors,  chisel,  lesion,  legion,  singe,  excessive,  example. 

Notice  that  final  [z]  is  unvoiced  towards  the  end ; 
thus  is  is  strictly  [izz] ;  compare  what  was  said  about 
final  [v]  in  §  27.  Is  she  often  becomes  [13$!]  or  [iji]. 

The  term  lisping  is  given  to  various  mispronun- 
ciations of  the  s  sounds.  It  may  be  due  to  a  lasting 


4«        The  Sounds  of  Spoken  English 

or  a  passing  malformation  of  the  teeth,  palate,  or 
tongue,1  or  it  may  be  simply  a  bad  habit.  A  slight 
habitual  lisp  is  often  heard,  and  parents  and  friends 
have  been  known  foolishly  to  encourage  a  child  in 
the  belief  that  the  lisp  is  "  pretty  " ;  it  is  important  to 
drive  this  idea  out  of  the  child's  head.  The  treat- 
ment of  lispers  is  varied;  generally  they  can  pro- 
duce the  right  sound  after  some  experimenting. 
When  the  right  sound  has  been  found  and  distin- 
guished by  the  child,  the  rest  is  entirely  a  matter  of 
perseverance.  There  must  be  frequent  repetition  in 
many  combinations.  The  exercises  should  be  practised 
sparingly  at  first,  and  gradually  increased,  otherwise 
the  strain  may  be  too  great  and  interfere  with  the 
child's  regular  work. 

31.  The  lisping  sounds. — Distinguish  clearly  the 
voiceless  [0]  as  in  thistle,  and  the  voiced  [S]  as  in  this. 
Compare  the  manner  of  production  of  the  lisping  and 
the  hissing  sounds  :  utter  [6]  and  [s].  You  will  find 
that  in  the  case  of  [6]  the  breath  is  not  passing 
through  a  narrow  channel,  and  issues  between  the  tips 
of  the  upper  teeth  and  of  the  tongue.  The  tongue  may 
be  between  the  teeth,  and  the  sounds  are  accordingly 
sometimes  called  interdental ;  but  this  is  by  no  means 
essential.  Our  English  lisping  sounds  are  usually 
formed  between  the  point  of  the  tongue  and  the 
back  of  the  front  upper  teeth ;  part  of  the  tongue 
fills  up  the  small  gap  between  the  teeth,  without 
advancing  beyond  their  back  surface. 

1  In  a  great  many  cases  lisping  is  due  to  an  over-long 
tongue;  or  the  tongue  may  be  "tied,"  in  which  case  the 
ligature  is  easily  cut 


The  Lisping  Sounds  43 

Which  of  the  following  words  have  [0]  and  which 
have  [5]  1 

thorn,  thou,  bath*,  baths*,  bathe*,  then,  think,  clothe*, 
cloth*,  with,  father,  thump,  lethal,  leather,  lath,  lathe, 
lithe,  loath*,  loathe*,  breath*,  breathe*,  heathen,  heath, 
heaths,  wreathe*,  wreath*,  wreaths*,  seethe,  truth*, 
truths*. 

What  do  you  notice  with  regard  to  the  words 
marked  with  an  asterisk  ?  Of  what  does  it  remind 
you  in  connection  with  the  hissing  sounds  ? 

Notice  that  final  [5]  is  unvoiced  or  whispered  to- 
wards the  end ;  compare  what  has  been  said  about 
final  [v]  and  final  [z]. 

A  fault,  common  especially  in  bad  southern 
English,  and  found  almost  invariably  in  baby  speech, 
is  the  substitution  of  [v,  f]  for  [5,  ff].  The  baby  says 
[fAm]  for  [#Am],  the  cockney  [nafirjk]  for  [nA0ir)], 
[feva]  for  [fe5a].  This  fault  should  on  no  account  be 
tolerated ;  the  child  (we  are  of  course  not  referring 
to  the  baby)  can  produce  the  lisping  sounds  without 
difficulty.  It  need  only  be  told  to  place  the  tongue 
between  the  teeth.  When  once  the  difference  in  the 
manner  of  production  of  [f]  and  [6]  is  known,  the 
child  can  also  hear  the  difference;  all  that  is  now 
required  is  perseverance. 

In  careless  speech  [h]  is  sometimes  substituted  for 
[6],  thus  /  think  so  becomes  [ai  hirjk  sou].  This  also 
has  its  parallel  in  baby  speech,  e.g.  [huge]  for  sugar. 

The  liquids. — This  designation   comprises   the  r  32. 
sounds  and  the  I  sounds. 


44        The  Sounds  of  Spoken  English 

The  sounds  written  r  are  extremely  varied,  and 
are  likely  to  give  some  trouble  to  the  student.  He 
should  in  the  first  place  ascertain  from  his  friends 
(we  are  assuming  that  these  speak  standard  English) 
whether  they  notice  anything  peculiar  about  his  r. 
If  they  do  not,  it  is  probable  that  he  uses  the 
untrilled  r.  (The  phonetic  sign  for  this  is  [a],  but  it 
is  customary  to  use  [r],  unless  exceptional  accuracy 
be  desired.) 

This  sound  is  produced  by  allowing  the  breath  to 
pass  between  the  raised  point  of  the  tongue  and  the 
ridge  of  the  upper  gums.1  When  the  breath  makes 
the  tip  of  the  tongue  vibrate,  we  have  the  trilled  or 
rolled  [r].  Can  you  roll  your  r?  Does  anyone  you 
know  habitually  do  so  ?  Have  you  noticed  whether 
Frenchmen  or  Germans  ever  do  it  ? 

Another  kind  of  r  is  that  produced  at  the  back  of 
the  mouth,  by  the  help  of  the  uvula  (see  §  8),  and 
called  the  throat  r  or  uvular  r  (phonetic  sign  :  [R]), 
as  distinguished  from  the  tongue  or  teeth  r  (lingual 
or  dental  r).  It  is  not  a  normal  sound  in  standard 
English,  but  is  occasionally  found.  It  used  to  be 
frequent  in  Durham  and  Northumberland  (the 
"Northumbrian  burr"),  but  is  dying  out  there  now. 

Notice  that  after  [t]  and  [d]  the  narrowing  for  [r] 
is  particularly  small,  and  therefore  the  friction  of  the 
breath  particularly  noticeable.  Say  such  words  as 
dry,  drink,  droll,  try,  trill,  trap,  and  carefully  observe 
the  nature  of  the  [r].  Notice  also  that  after  voiceless 

1  The  baok  of  the  tongue  may  also  be  raised  to  some  extent ; 
how  does  this  explain  the  substitution  of  [w]  for  [r]  which  is 
sometimes  heard  ? 


The  R  Sounds  45 

sounds  the  [r]  often  becomes  voiceless  [r],  as  in 
praise,  try,  increase.  Sometimes  tried  almost  sounds 
like  chide,  because  the  passage  of  the  breath  is  not 
stopped  and  the  vocal  chords  have  not  begun  to 
vibrate.  Try  to  utter  a  voiceless  [r]  by  itself; 
practise  the  series  [r  r  r  r  r]. 

There  is  also  a  peculiar  variety  of  r  found  after  g, 
as  in  great,  green,  grass.  This  r  is  a  kind  of  palatal 
blade  continuant,  and  its  use  should  be  avoided,  as 
it  is  generally  held  to  be  affected. 

In  standard  English  the  written  r  is  only  pro- 
nounced initially  (as  in  red),  between  a  consonant  and 
a  vowel  (as  in  bread,  angry),  and  between  vowels,  the 
second  of  which  is  not  only  written,  but  actually 
pronounced  (as  in  very).1 

It  is  not  pronounced  between  a  vowel  and  a  con- 
sonant (as  in  arm,  lord),  nor  when  it  is  final  in  the 
spelling  or  followed  by  a  vowel  which  is  only  written 
and  not  actually  pronounced  (as  in  bar,  bare).  Its 
place  is  in  many  cases  taken  by  the  neutral  vowel 
[9]  (see  §  38). 

Observe  that  a  final  r  is  pronounced  when  the 
next  word  begins  with  a  vowel.  (Is  there  anything 
like  this  in  French  ?)  Thus  we  say  better  [beta],  but 
[betar  9n  bete] ;  ever  [eva],  but  [for  ever  end  eva] ; 
here  [hia],  but  [hijr  an  fteia] ;  stir  up  [starr  Ap],  but 
[sta:  Sa  faia].  There  is,  however,  nowadays  a  ten- 
dency to  leave  even  this  r  unpronounced. 

The  fact  that  such  words  as  better  have  two  forms, 

1  The  rule  may  also  be  stated  thus :  r  is  only  heard  when  a 
vowel  follows  in  the  same  or  the  next  word.  "  Vowel "  must 
here  be  taken  to  include  [j]. 


46        The  Sounds  of  Spoken  English 

* 

with  and  without  [r],  has  led  to  the  addition  of  [r] 
when  there  is  no  justification  for  it.  Even  educated 
people  are  often  heard  to  pronounce  the  idea  of  it  as 
[Si  aidiar  9v  it] ;  The  India  Office  sometimes  becomes 
[Si  indjar  ofis];  china  ornaments  becomes  [tjainar 
omamants] ;  and  clergymen  have  been  known  to  say 
[vik'toijar  aua  kwijn].  Similarly,  in  vulgar  speech 
[Sa  winder  iz  oupan],  [pa'pair  az  gon  aut],  etc.,  are 
quite  common. 

There  is  an  affected  pronunciation  of  this  [a] 
which  makes  it  approximate  to  a  deep  [a];  the 
comic  papers  represent  my  dear  fellow  as  "  my  deah 
fellah  "  to  indicate  the  speech  of  a  swell. 

The  substitution  of  [w]  for  [r]  is  a  mannerism 
which  should  not  be  tolerated ;  it  is  the  result  of  a 
bad  habit,  not  of  any  defect  of  the  organs  of  speech. 

When  a  word  contains  the  letter  r  twice,  careless 
speakers  incline  to  drop  one  of  them;  February 
becomes  [febjuari],  temporarily  [temparili],  library 
[laibri],  literary  [litari],  supernumerary  [sjuwpanjuw- 
meri],  contemporary  [kantempari].  Veterinary  usually 
becomes  [vetanri]  or  [vetnari]. 

33  In  order  to  produce  the  sound  of  [1],  we  let 
the  breath  pass  out  between  the  side  rims  of  the 
tongue  and  the  side  gums  and  teeth ;  the  point  of 
the  tongue  touches  the  roof  of  the  mouth  somewhere 
along  the  middle  line. 

Utter  [1J  with  the  point  of  the  tongue  drawn 
back  as  far  as  possible ;  then  utter  [1]  several  times, 
gradually  bringing  the  point  of  the  tongue  forward, 
until  it  eventually  touches  the  teeth.  You  will 


The  L  Sounds  47 

notice  a  difference  in  the  quality  of  the  sound :  the 
sound  is  "  dark  " l  when  the  tongue  is  farther  back, 
"  clear  "  when  it  is  forward  in  the  mouth.  Notice 
that  when  the  tongue  is  drawn  back,  it  is  bunched 
up  behind.  In  standard  English  the  [1]  is  frequently 
pronounced  with  the  tongue  fairly  back  in  the 
mouth ;  the  "  darkness "  of  the  [1]  is  particularly 
noticeable  when  it  comes  at  the  end  of  a  word.2 

Excessive  withdrawal  of  the  tongue  tip  is  not  to 
be  encouraged  in  children ;  they  should  rather 
practise  the  "  clear  "  [1],  though  they  need  not  go  so 
far  as  actually  to  "  let  the  tongue  touch  the  teeth." 
This  is,  however,  a  good  rule,  and  if  instilled  in 
the  children  will  do  something  to  counteract  any 
tendency  to  "  darkness  "  of  the  [1].  It  is  not  likely 
that  they  will  acquire  the  habit  of  actually  touching 
the  teeth  when  they  say  [1] ;  but  a  sufficiently  "clear" 
[1]  can  be  obtained  if  the  point  of  contact  is  at  the 
upper  gums,  and  even  a  little  farther  back  than 
that.  It  should  be  noted  that  the  [1]  may  be  "  dark," 
even  when  the  point  of  the  tongue  touches  the  teeth, 
if  the  back  of  the  tongue  is  raised. 

In  cockney  speech  the  [1]  is  sometimes  lost,  through 
no  contact  taking  place ;  tail  is  pronounced  [tsejo]  or 
something  similar,  with  a  very  open  [o]  (see  §  43)  in 
place  of  [1],  and  after  consonants  also  the  final  I,  as 
in  giggle,  is  very  liable  to  disappear.  This  recalls  the 
treatment  of  final  r  in  standard  English.  In  careless 
speech  the  [1]  also  disappears  in  only  and  in  all  right. 

xThe  term  "dark"  here  implies  a  deep  and  obscure  reson- 
ance, with  little  friction. 

2  Contrast  the  [1]  of  will  and  willing  (where  its  position 
between  front  vowels  leads  to  forward  formation). 


48        The  Sounds  of  Spoken  English 

Colonel  is  pronounced  [kernel] ;  the  older  spelling 
corond  explains  this. 

Notice  that  when  [1]  comes  next  to  a  voiceless 
sound,  it  may  become  partly  or  wholly  voiceless  [\]. 
Thus  dear  becomes  [kjiie],  halt  [ho]t].  The  friction 
becomes  noticeable  then;  try  to  utter  [J]  and 
observe  this.  The  voiceless  sound  is  the  familiar 
Welsh  22. 

In  bubble,  riddle,  etc.,  we  may  have  syllabic  I  [}]. 
Compare  what  was  said  about  syllabic  m  in  §  22, 
and  about  syllabic  n  in  §  24. 

The  I  is  not  pronounced  in  calf,  half,  sake,1  balk, 
caulk,  chalk,  falcon* folk,  stalk,  talk,  walk, yolk,  almond, 
alms,  balm,  calm,  palm,  psalm,  qualm,  salmon,  solder, 
should,  would,  could  (where  it  is  not  etymologically 
justified) ;  golf  is  usually  [golf],  but  also  [gof]3,  and 
rarely  [goif].8 

It  was  said  above  that  for  [1]  we  let  the  breath 
pass  out  at  both  sides  of  the  mouth;  but,  as  a 
matter  of  fact,  most  people  let  it  out  only  on  one 
side.  On  which  side  does  it  pass  out  in  your  own 
case?  Is  the  same  true  of  your  whole  family! 
Ascertain  which  is  the  usual  side  in  the  case  of 
friends. 

Front  continuants.  —  Watch  with  your  mirror 
what  the  tongue  does  when  you  utter  the  word  he. 
You  see  that  it  rises  in  front.  Kaise  it  a  little  more, 
until  the  passage  becomes  quite  narrow ;  the  vowel 

1  Some  pronounce  this  word 
a  Some  pronounce  this  word 
1  These  are  modifications  of  the  Scotch  form  of  the  word. 


Front  Continuants  49 

will  pass  into  the  sound  which  we  have  at  the 
beginning  of  yes  [jes],  and  which  we  also  have  in 
sue  [sju:w],  for  which  see  §  45.  As  a  rule  the 
friction  is  very  slight,  and  indeed  hardly  perceptible 
to  the  ear ;  but  in  the  slowly  uttered,  deliberate  yes 
the  friction  can  often  be  heard  very  distinctly.  The 
sound  is  also  noteworthy  as  being,  like  [w]  and  [j], 
"gliding,"  not  "held"  (see  §§  26,  32).  In  careless 
speech  it  sometimes  passes  into  [3]  after  [d] ;  during 
is  pronounced  [dsuwriT)]  instead  of  [djuwrir)],  the 
dew  becomes  [dsuw],  it  made  you  start  [it  mei 
sta:t].  Soldier  is  regularly  pronounced 
not  [souldjo] ;  and  verdure,  grandeur,  have  both  pro- 
nunciations, [djs]  being  preferred  by  careful  speakers. 
After  voiceless  sounds,  as  in  Tuesday,  tube,  [j] 
occasionally  passes  into  the  corresponding  voiceless 
[9],  which  is  the  consonant  sound  in  the  German 
ich ;  and  sometimes  it  even  becomes  [$],  compare  the 
careless  pronunciation  of  don't  you  know  [dountjanou], 
last  year  [la:s  tjio],  he'll  meet  you  [hijl  mijtju]  ;  /  shall 
hit  you  is  in  vulgar  speech  [ai  $9!  itjo].  For  this 
development  in  unstressed  syllables,  see  §  45. 

Back  continuants. — When  we  utter  the  vowel 
sound  of  who  the  back  of  the  tongue  is  raised ;  if  we 
raise  it  a  little  higher,  there  is  friction,  and  we 
obtain  the  back  continuants.  These  do  not  normally 
belong  to  standard  English.  The  voiceless  [x]  is, 
however,  not  uncommon  in  the  pronunciation  of 
words  taken  from  Scotch,  Welsh,  or  German ;  even 
in  such  words  [k]  is  generally  substituted.  The 
Scotch  loch  is  pronounced  [lox]  or  [lok] ;  the  German 
D 


50        The  Sounds  of  Spoken  English 

Hoch(heimcr)  is  always  spelt  and  pronounced   hock 
[hok].     In  Scotch  [x]  occurs  normally. 

Throat  r  (uvular  r). — This  sound,  which  does  not 
normally  belong  to  standard  English,  has  been 
referred  to  in  §  32. 

35.  The  h  sounds. — We  considered  the  glottis  (the 
interval  between  the  vocal  chords)  in  §  6.  We  saw 
that  when  it  is  quite  open,  the  breath  passes  through 
without  producing  any  audible  sound.  When,  how- 
ever, the  glottis  is  somewhat  narrowed,  the  breath 
brushes  past  the  vocal  chords,  and  an  h  is  produced ; 
this  we  may  call  a  voiceless  glottal  continuant.1 

Now  there  may  be  various  kinds  of  glottal  [h]. 
The  passage  between  the  vocal  chords  may  be  more  or 
less  narrow,  and  it  may  remain  uniform  or  gradually 
grow  narrower  or  wider.  The  current  of  breath  may 
be  strong  or  weak ;  it  may  be  of  uniform  force,  or 
gradually  grow  stronger  or  weaker.  When  there  is 
a  strong  current  of  breath,  and  the  opening  is  very 
narrow,  we  call  it  "  wheezing." 

In  standard  English  the  A  is  a  glottal  continuant 
only  when  there  is  precise  and  emphatic  utterance. 
Ordinarily  it  is  produced  in  the  mouth  passage. 
When  we  say  ha,  the  vocal  chords  are  not  drawn 
together  until  the  vowel  is  sounded;  the  mouth, 

1  [h]  is  described  as  voiceless  ;  but  it  may  also  be  produced 
with  voice.  We  have  seen  that  the  vocal  chords  consist  of  a 
fleshy  and  a  cartilaginous  part :  it  is  possible  to  let  the  former 
vibrate,  while  the  latter  is  left  open,  and  the  breath  passing 
through  produces  [h].  Try  to  utter  this  sound. 


The  H  Sounds  51 

however,  gets  into  position  for  uttering  the  vowel  a 
little  before  the  time,  and  the  breath  as  it  passes 
through  produces  an  h  sound.  In  [ha]  then,  we 
practically  have  a  voiceless  [a]  followed  by  the 
ordinary  voiced  [a] ;  in  he,  a,  voiceless  [i]  followed  by 
the  ordinary  [i]  vowel;  in  who,  a  voiceless  [u]  fol- 
lowed by  the  ordinary  [u].  Whisper  these  words, 
and  also  hay  and  hoe ;  and  after  each,  whisper  the 
[h]  only.  Notice  that  the  ear  detects  an  actual 
difference  in  these  h  sounds. 

A  good  deal  depends  on  the  current  of  breath 
with  which  the  [h]  is  uttered.  In  standard  English 
the  current  does  not  keep  on  growing  in  volume 
until  the  vowel  is  sounded ;  it  distinctly  diminishes 
before  the  vowel  appears.  This  may  be  graphically 
represented  by  the  signs  [  <  h  >  ]. 

If  the  current  of  breath  does  not  diminish  in  this 
way,  but  starts  weakly  and  does  not  reach  its 
maximum  force  until  the  vowel  is  reached,  the  ear 
does  not  receive  the  impression  of  a  distinct  [h]. 
This  sound  may  be  written  [h  <  ]  or  simply  [  <  ]. 
This  (the  "  soft  breath ")  precedes  initial  vowels 
in  standard  English ;  it  is  the  sound  which  in 
cockney  speech  commonly  represents  the  more 
distinct  [  <  h  >  ] ;  those  who  use  it  are  said  to  "  drop 
their  h's."  Conscious  of  the  defect,  they  often  prefix 
a  full,  even  an  exaggerated  [h]  to  words  which  have 
no  h.  It  need  hardly  be  said  that  carelessness  in 
the  use  of  h  is  not  to  be  tolerated.  It  is  interesting 
to  note  that  no  h  is  ever  dropped  in  the  speech  of 
Americans,  except  in  the  weak  forms  of  het  him,  for. 


52        The  Sounds  of  Spoken  English 

[h]  occurs  in  standard  English  only  before  stressed 
vowels.  Initial  h  before  unstressed  vowels  is  only 
pronounced  when  preceded  by  a  pause. 

Notice  that : 

1.  Written   h  is  not  pronounced  in  heir,   honest, 
honour,  hour,  and  words   derived   from  these- 

It  is  now  pronounced  in  standard  English  in  herb, 
hospital,  humble,  humour  (a  fair  number  of  educated 
speakers  still  pronounce  this  word  without  [h]). 

2.  It  is  regarded  as  correct  to  say  a  history,  but  an 
historical  novel ;  a  habit,  but  an  habitual  action ;  many, 
however,  pronounce  the  h  in  both  cases. 

3.  Certain  words  drop  the  h  when  they  occur  in 
an  unstressed  position  in  the  sentence ;   this  is  a 
regular  feature  of  standard  colloquial  speech,  and 
does  not  convey  the  slightest  suggestion  of  vulgarity, 
It  must  be  recognised  that  such  words  have  two 
forms,  weak  and  strong,  according  as  they  are  used 
without  or  with  emphasis.     Compare  the  following 
sentences : 

Tom  has     been    there.          Has  he  though  ? 
torn    oz  bijn  (bin)  Seie.  haez    i      Sou  ? 

'  I  gave  her  a  book.  What,  to  her  t 

ai  geiv   or  9  buk.  wot,    tu  he:  ? 

Find  as  many  words  having  strong  and  weak 
forms  as  you  can  by  observing  the  ordinary  speech 
of  those  around  you.  Then  compare  the  list  given 
in  §47. 

For  the  dropping  of  h  in  the  second  part  of  com- 
pound words,  see  §  47. 


The  Vowel  Sounds  53 

VOWELS 

We  have  considered  the  sounds  produced  when  the  36 
passage  through  which  the  breath  passes  is  closed 
(stops)  or  narrowed  (continuants) ;  we  now  have 
to  consider  the  sounds  produced  when  the  passage  is 
wide  enough  for  the  breath  to  pass  through  without 
audibly  brushing  against  the  sides.  These  sounds 
are  the  vowels. 

"Voice,"  produced  by  the  vibration  of  the  vocal 
chords,  may  be  said  to  give  body  to  the  vowel ;  the 
shape  of  the  passage  through  which  the  breath  passes 
determines  the  features  that  distinguish  one  vowel 
from  another,  i.e.  its  quality.  The  shape  of  this 
passage  is  capable  of  almost  infinite  variation,  which 
leads  to  a  corresponding  variety  of  resonances,  and 
these  determine  the  quality  of  the  vowels. 

Picture  to  yourself  the  inside  of  the  mouth,  and 
consider  how  the  cavity  may  become  larger  or  smaller, 
according  as  you  separate  or  draw  together  the  jaws; 
see  what  a  difference  it  makes  if  you  raise  the  tongue 
at  the  back,  or  in  the  middle,  or  in  the  front ;  bear 
in  mind  that  the  position  of  the  lips  may  also  modify 
the  sound,  as  you  will  notice  if,  for  instance,  you 
utter  [u]  as  in  who,  first  with  the  lips  forming  a  long 
narrow  slit,  and  again  with  the  lips  forming  a  very 
small  circle  (of  the  same  size  as  the  end  of  a  lead 
pencil). 

Of  the  well-defined  vowels  that  which  is  articulated  37 
with  least  effort  is  [a].1     It  is  the  earliest  vowel 

1  The  "  neutral  "  vowel  [a],  for  which  see  §  38,  requiree  less 
effort. 


54        The  Sounds  of  Spoken  English 

sound  uttered  by  the  baby,  before  it  has  acquired 
control  over  the  muscles  of  the  tongue.  It  is  also 
common  as  an  interjection.  Utter  it,  and  watch  the 
tongue  with  your  mirror;  you  will  see  that  the 
middle  of  the  tongue  ridge  is  slightly  raised.  The 
opening  of  the  mouth  is  generally  larger  than  in  the 
case  of  the  other  vowels.  See  the  diagram  on  p.  125. 

Utter  the  standard  English  sound  of  a  in  hat, 
for  which  the  sign  is  [»].  Say  several  times  [a  as] 
and  watch  the  tongue  as  you  do  so ;  you  will  see 
that  it  moves  forward  and  is  a  little  higher  in  front 
and  lower  at  back  for  [se].  The  opening  of  the 
mouth  is  often  quite  as  large  for  [ae]  as  for  [a]. 

Now  try  to  produce  the  sound  which  lies  between 
the  two,  with  the  tongue  occupying  an  intermediate 
position ;  you  will  obtain  the  sound  [a],  which  is  the 
northern  English  vowel  in  hat,  and  the  vowel  in  the 
French  word  chat ;  in  standard  English  it  occurs  only 
as  the  first  part  of  the  diphthongs  in  bite  [bait]  and 
b&ut  [baut].1  This  [a]  is  sometimes  called  the  "clear" 
a  sound.  See  the  diagram  on  p.  123. 

Next,  draw  the  tongue  a  little  back,  and  you  will 
obtain  a  variety  of  [a]  which  is  "  dark "  and  has  a 
suggestion  of  the  vowel  in  all  [oil].  This  sound  is 
commonly  substituted  for  the  "  pure  "  or  "  neutral " 
[a]  in  cockney  speech,  so  that  fast  is  made  to  sound 
like  [foist],  park  like  [po:k]. 

This  "  darkening "  of  the  a  sound  should  not  be 
permitted;  in  order  to  counteract  it,  it  may  be 
advisable  to  make  the  class  utter  [a]  singly  and  in 

1  Notice  the  faulty  tendency  to  raise  the  tongue  too  high  in 
uttering  the  first  part  of  this  diphthong ;  see  §  40. 


The  A  Sounds  55 

chorus,  until  they  are  quite  clear  as  to  the  nature  of 
the  required  sound. 

It  is  sometimes  found  that  precise  speakers,  through 
an  excessive  desire  to  avoid  any  suspicion  of  cockney 
leanings  in  their  speech,  substitute  [a]  for  [a],  saying, 
for  instance,  [faiSe]  in  place  of  [fa:5o] ;  it  is  parti- 
cularly ladies  of  real  or  would-be  refinement  who 
commit  this  mistake.  A  mistake  it  is,  like  every 
other  deviation  from  what  is  generally  recognised 
by  the  educated. 

In  other  cases  the  "  clear  "  pronunciation  of  a  is 
often  heard,  e.g.,  in  glass,  bath,  past,  answer,  demand, 
grant,  everlasting.  Both  [a]  and  [se]  occur,  particu- 
larly in  the  speech  of  ladies.  What  is  the  American 
pronunciation  of  halfl 

In  standard  English  there  is  practically  no  short 
[a],1  but  only  the  long  [a:],  which  should  be  neither 
"  dark  "  nor  "  clear."  If  we  analyse  it  carefully,  we 
often  find2  that  it  is  not  a  single  vowel  of  uniform 
value,  only  the  first  part  being  "  pure "  [a],  the  rest 
being  a  faint  variant ;  but  for  practical  purposes  we 
may  regard  it  as  uniform  in  quality,  as  in  good 
speech  it  is  a  pure  long  vowel. 

There  is   a   short  sound  closely  akin  to  it  (in  38. 
position,  but  not  in  sound),  which  we  have  in  but, 
much,  etc.,  and  for  which  the  sign  is  [A].     The  back 

1  However,  there  ia  a  pronunciation  of  are,  intermediate 
between  the  emphatic  [dl]  and  the  unstressed  [a],  which  may 
be  described  as  short  [a].  The  a  in  the  unstressed  prefix 
trans-,  and  the  second  a  of'  advantageous  also  have  the  sound 
of  [a]  sometimes.  2  Especially  when  it  is  final. 


56       The  Sounds  of  Spoken  English 

of  the  tongue  is  raised  a  little  in  the  production  of 
this  sound,  and  sometimes  the  front  also  ;  and  in  con- 
sequence there  are  several  varieties  of  it.  It  occurs 
only  in  syllables  having  some  stress  ;  we  have  [A] 
in  teacup,  unfit,  until;  but  not  in  welcome,  which 
is  not  felt  to  be  a  compound.  When  it  is  unstressed, 
it  becomes  the  dull  vowel  [9]  ;  unstressed  but  is  [bat]. 
Observe  the  vulgar  pronunciation  of  just  as 


The  dull  vowel  [9]  occurs  very  commonly  in  ordi- 
nary speech  ;  most  unstressed  syllables  contain  this 
vowel  or  the  variety  of  [i]  mentioned  below.  It  is 
found,  for  instance,  in  the  italicised  syllables  of 
vowel,  variety,  carpenter,  ordinary.  The  long  [9:]  is 
variously  written  ;  we  have  it  in  fern,  fir,1  fur,  word. 
(In  northern  English  there  is  some  variety  in  the  [9], 
according  to  the  written  vowel  which  it  represents.) 
Notice  the  precise  and  the  ordinary  pronunciation  of 
such  words  as  paternal,  polite,  potato.  The  uneducated 
often  insert  [9]  in  such  words  as  Henry  [henori],  um- 
brella [Amb9rela]  ;  and  sometimes  they  substitute  [i] 
for  [e],  as  in  miracle,  wrongly  pronounced  [mirikj], 
philosopher,  wrongly  pronounced  [fi'losifa],  and  in 
oracle,  pigeon. 

The  letters  e,  i,  and  y  in  unstressed  syllables 
represent  a  very  laxly  articulated  sound,  for  which 
the  sign  [i]  is  used  in  this  book.  It  varies  some- 
what in  different  speakers;  several  sounds  inter- 
mediate between  the  open  [i]  and  the  middle  [e]  may 

1  Many  cultivated  people  pronounce  girl  as  [g£9l];  but  [g9'l] 
in  to  be  preferred.  Clerk,  sergeant  have  [as],  not  [9;]  ;  also 
Derby,  Berkshire,  Hertfordshire. 


Front  Vowels  57 

be  heard.  This  serves  to  explain  the  uncertainty  of 
spelling  in  such  cases  as  ensure  and  insure,  enquire 
and  inquire. 

Sometimes  the  vowel  disappears  altogether,  as  in 
business,  medicine,  venison. 

The  letter  o  in  unstressed  syllables  preceding  the 
chief  stress  is  usually  [9],  but  in  precise  speech  an 
o-sound  is  heard  in  such  words  as  conceive,  official, 
possess.  After  the  chief  stress  [o]  is  rarely  heard ;  but 
epoch  [ijpok]  and  other  uncommon  words  keep  the  [o]. 

The  front  vowels. — Utter  the  word  he  and  notice  39. 
what  the  tongue  does.    You  can  do  so  by  looking  into 
your  mirror,  or  by  putting  a  finger  just  inside  your 
front  upper  teeth,  or  by  whispering  the  sound,  and 
feeling  what  happens. 

You  mil  generally  find  that  you  can  analyse  vowels 
best  if  you  whisper  them,  because  the  "voice"  does  not 
interfere  with  your  appreciation  of  the  mouth  resonances. 
By  this  time  your  muscular  consciousness  (see  §  9)  should 
be  considerably  developed,  and  you  should  be  conscious  of 
what  your  tongue,  lips,  etc.,  are  doing,  without  having 
recourse  to  a  mirror. 

You  will  find  that  you  are  raising  your  tongue  very 
high  in  front :  [a]  and  [i]  are  extremes ;  in  the  one 
case  the  front  of  the  tongue  is  practically  as  low 
as  it  can  be,  in  the  other  it  is  raised  as  high  as  pos- 
sible. You  might  raise  the  tongue  farther,  but  the 
resulting  sound  would  not  be  a  vowel.  The  passage 
would  be  too  narrow,  there  would  be  friction,  and  a 
continuant  would  be  the  result  (see  §  34). 

Utter  a  pure  [a]  and  gradually  raise  the  front  of 


58       The  Sounds  of  Spoken  English 

the  tongue  until  you  reach  [i].  You  may  either  keep 
your  vocal  chords  vibrating  all  the  time,  or  you  may 
whisper  the  sounds ;  but  see  that  the  tongue  moves 
slowly  and  steadily.  You  will  realise  that  very  many 
sounds  lie  between  [a]  and  [i] ;  as  they  are  all  pro- 
duced with  the  raising  of  the  front  of  the  tongue, 
they  are  called  front  vowels. 

We  have  already  noticed  clear  [a],  and  have  met 
with  [ae],  which  is  the  vowel  sound  in  hat  [hset]. 
When  unstressed  the  [se]  gives  place  to  [a] ;  that 
[Saet]  becomes  [Sat]. 

The  uneducated  sometimes  substitute  a  closer 
sound  (the  middle  e)  for  [se] ;  they  say  [k<?b]  for 
cab,  [ket$]  for  catch,  [#enks]  for  thanks,  [berjk]  for 
bank.  The  same  mistake  may  also  be  heard  in  the 
pronunciation  of  carriage,  radish,  January.  In  any, 
many  the  first  vowel  is  always  [«].  What  is  it  in 
manifold  1 

The  sound  [se]  is  only  found  short.  There  is 
a  kindred  long  sound  [si],  as  in  fair,  for  which 
the  tongue  is  rather  higher.  It  is  often  called  the 
open  [s],  [ae]  being  a  still  more  open  sound. 

A  difference  in  the  formation  of  [aej  and  [si]  must 
be  noticed ;  it  is  not  confined  to  this  pair  of  vowels. 
In  uttering  a  vowel  sound  we  may  adjust  the  articula- 
tions so  favourably  that  the  resulting  sound  is  clear 
and  decided;  this  may  be  called  tense  articulation, 
producing  tense  vowels.  If  we  do  not  trouble  to 
adjust  the  articulations  carefully,  if  we  have  lax 
articulation,  we  obtain  lax  vowels.  In  standard 


The  E  Sounds  59 

English  we  do  not  articulate  tensely,  except  in 
precise  and  emphatic  speech.  (Notice  how  tensely 
the  French  and  the  Germans  articulate  their  accented 
long  vowels.)  In  teaching  children  the  terms  tight 
and  loose  may  be  used. 

The  articulation  of  [ei]  is  relatively  tense,  that  of 
[ae]  is  lax.  For  [e]  see  the  diagram  on  p.  123. 

Notice  that  [e\]  is  always  followed  by  a  more  or 
less  distinct  [9] ;  there  is  [Seie],  Mary  is  [ms:(9)ri]. 
Consider  the  value  of  -ear-  in  bear  and  bearing. 

There  is  a  vulgar  pronunciation  of  /  dare  say  as 
[ai  desei],  instead  of  [ai  deio  sei]. 

The  diphthongs  in  bite  and  bout  are  pronounced  by  40. 
the  uneducated  in  many  ways  not  permissible  in 
standard  English.  The  first  element  should  be  "clear" 
[a].  A  "pure"  [a]  would  not  be  offensive  here, 
though  it  is  much  less  common ; J  but  any  pushing 
forward  of  the  tongue  beyond  the  [a]  limit,  any 
substitution  of  [ae]  for  [a],  is  not  to  be  tolerated. 
The  nasalising  of  these  diphthongs  adds  to  the  un- 
pleasant effect.  Probably  the  best  means  of  counter- 
acting these  tendencies  is  to  insist  on  [ai]  and  [au] ; 
if  the  pure  [a]  has  been  practised,  as  was  suggested 
above,  it  will  form  a  stepping-stone  to  the  acquisition 
of  good  diphthongs. 

There  is  a  common  tendency  to  substitute  [a]  for 
[ai]  before  r,  e.g.  in  fire.  This  should  be  avoided. 

The  ending  -ile  in  agile,  docile,  fertile,  futile,  hostile, 

1  It  is  heard  on  the  stage  and  in  public  speaking  generally  ; 
in  ordinary  conversation  it  suggests  the  speech  of  a  foreigner, 
especially  if  the  [a]  element  of  the  diphthong  is  lengthened, 


60       The  Sounds  of  Spoken  English 

puerile  is  pronounced  [ail],  and  not  [il]  as  used  to  be 
the  case,  and  as  is  common  in  the  United  States. 

41.  The  next  sounds  in  the  series,  obtained  by  raising 
the  tongue  a  little  higher  than  for  [g],  are  "  middle  " 
[e]  and  "close"  [e].  The  vowel  in  pen,  get,  fell  is 
usually  the  middle  [e]  ;  some  speakers  (perhaps 
mostly  ladies)  use  the  close  [e]  here,  but  the  very 
close  [e],  heard  in  French  4tt,  is  not  found  in  standard 
English.  For  ordinary  purposes  the  sign  [e]  may 
serve  to  designate  both  [e]  and  [e],  as  they  are  so 
closely  connected.  When  unstressed,  the  [e]  gives 
place  to  [9] ;  thus  unstressed  them  is  [5am].  Notice 
that  'em  really  goes  back  to  the  old  form  hem. 

For  [e]  see  the  diagram  on  p.  122. 

Observe  the  colloquial  tendency  to  pronounce  get 
as  [git].  Pretty  is  correctly  pronounced  [priti]. 

A  fairly  close  [e]  is  in  standard  English  the  first 
element  of  the  diphthong  in  laid,  tame,  late,  etc. 
There  is  not  one  uniform  vowel  sound  in  these 
words;  pronounce  aid  quite  slowly,  and  you  will 
notice  that  the  tongue  rises  before  the  consonant  is 
reached.  The  diphthong  is  long  when  a  voiced 
sound  follows  it,  short  before  a  voiceless  sound. 
Thus  laid  [leid]  is  longer  than  late  [leit].  Test  this 
statement  by  finding  other  words  containing  the 
diphthong,  and  pronouncing  them  to  yourself  or 
getting  others  to  pronounce  them.  What  is  the 
quantity  of  the  [ei]  when  the  diphthong  is  final  ? 

In  vulgar  speech  the  first  element  of  the  diphthong 
tends  to  [a],  sometimes  almost  to  [o]. 


The  I  Sounds  61 

Again,  against  are  pronounced  with  [e]  or  [ei]. 
In  always  [ei],  [i]  and  [9]  may  be  heard. 

The  vowel  in  says  and  said  is  short  [sez,  sed],  as 
also  in  ate  [et].  The  pronunciation  of  -ain  as  [ein] 
in  such  words  as  fountain,  captain,  bargain,  is  a 
pedantic  affectation. 

How  do  you  pronounce  villain,  curtain  ? 

Two  front  vowels  remain  to  be  considered,  the  42. 
t  sounds.  Say  bid  and  bead.  You  recognise  that 
one  is  longer  than  the  other;  are  they  otherwise 
the  same1?  Say  bid  and  repeat  it  with  the  same 
vowel  drawn  out ;  then  say  bead,  and  repeat  it  with 
the  vowel  shortened.  If  you  are  careful  in  each 
case  to  change  only  the  length,  and  not  the  quality 
of  the  vowel,  you  will  perceive  that  the  vowels  in 
bid  and  in  bead  are  different. 

The  vowel  in  bid  is  laxly  articulated  and  is  known  as 
the  open  [i].  In  unstressed  syllables  (see  §  38)  it  is 
often  very  open  indeed,  and  when  it  is  final,  as  in  very, 
the  tongue  is  raised  very  little  higher  than  for  close  or 
even  middle  e.  The  sign  for  this  sound  is  [e  A]  or 
[i  T].  (Here  A  means  more  close,  T  more  open.)  Can 
you  hear  any  difference  between  the  two  vowels  of  lily  1 

The  great  phonetician  Ellis  remarked  that  the 
pronunciation  of  the  i  in  six  is  the  touchstone  of 
foreigners,  especially  of  those  belonging  to  the 
Romance  nations ;  they  usually  articulate  it  too 
tensely.  Ask  a  Frenchman  to  say  fini,  and  compare 
his  sounds  with  those  in  finny. 


62        The  Sounds  of  Spoken  English 

Notice  the  frequent  cockney  pronunciation  of  -y  as 
[ei],  e.g.,  in  windy  [wind«i]. 

Often  [a]  is  substituted  for  this  sound,  as  in  unity, 
ability,  pronounced  [juwnoti,  e'biloti],  also  in  April, 
visible  ;  but  this  is  avoided  by  some  speakers. 

The  [i]  in  the  diphthongs  [ai]  and  [oi],  as  in  buy, 
boy,  is  very  low. 

In  bead  we  have  not  a  single  vowel,  but  a  kind  of 
diphthong.  If  you  utter  it  slowly,  you  will  find 
that  the  tongue  does  not  remain  in  a  uniform 
position,  but  rises  a  little  towards  the  end,  the 
sound  becoming  closer.  It  may  begin  close,  in 
which  case  the  further  rising  reduces  the  passage  so 
much  that  we  have  [j] ;  bead  in  this  case  is  [bijd]. 
Or  the  vowel  may  begin  fairly  open  and  rise  to 
the  close  position ;  then  bead  is  [biid].1  When  the 
diphthong  is  followed  by  a  voiceless  sound,  it  is 
shortened;  beat  [bijt]  [blit]  is  shorter  than  bead. 
Compare  also  seed,  seat,  sit;  feed,  feet,  Jit.  Careful 
speakers  pronounce  been  like  bean,  not  like  bin ;  most 
speakers,  however,  use  the  shortened  form  in 
ordinary  speech. 

For  [i]  see  the  diagram  on  p.  122. 

In  dear,  fear,  etc.,  we  have  a  rather  open  vowel,  of 
varying  length,  followed  by  [o] ;  we  may  write  [dig],  but 
strictly  it  is  [dio,  di'9]  and  sometimes  [duo].  Before 
[r],  as  in  dearest,  the  [9]  becomes  faint  or  disappears. 
Standard  English  contains  no  [i]  as  close  as  the  French 
[i]  and  the  German  [i:].  Convince  yourself  of  this 
by  asking  foreigners  to  pronounce  words  containing 
these  sounds,  in  their  own  language  or  in  English. 

1  The  first  part  is  still  more  open  in  a  common  vulgar  pro- 
nunciation of  tea,  please. 


Front  Vowels  63 

Notice  the  frequent  pronunciation  of  ear,  year,  as 
[J9i],  and  that  of  dear  as  [djoi]. 

We  are  now  able  to  give  the  whole  series  of  vowels 
from  [i]  to  [a]  occurring  in  standard  English. 

close  i  (diagram,  p.  122) 

\ 

open  i 

\ 

close  e  (diagram,  p.  122) 

V 

middle  e 

\ 

open  e  (diagram,  p.  123) 
v 

more  open  ae 

\ 

clear  a  (diagram,  p.  123) 

\ 

a  (diagram,  p.  125) 

It  will  be  good  practice  for  you  to  utter  this  series 
of  sounds,  from  [a]  to  [i]  and  vice  versa,  and  long  as 
well  as  short. 

The  raising  of  the  tongue  for  the  [i]  sounds  is  best 
seen  if  the  upper  and  lower  teeth  are  kept  well  apart. 

The  back  vowels. — When  the  front  vowels  have  43. 
been  carefully  differentiated,  the  back  vowels  will 
be  found  to  present  little  difficulty.     Owing  to  the 


64        The  Sounds  of  Spoken  English 

fact  that  the  back  of  the  tongue  does  not  admit  of 
so  much  variety  of  movement  as  the  front  of  the 
tongue,  the  number  of  sounds  in  the  series  [a]  to  [u] 
is  smaller  than  in  the  series  [a]  to  [i]. 

You  will  see  that  there  is  some  resemblance  between 
the  sounds  of  the  two  series.  Thus  we  had  a  lax  [ae] 
and  a  tense  [si]  in  the  front  vowels ;  and  there  are 
corresponding  open  o  sounds  when  the  tongue  is 
raised  a  little  at  the  back. 

The  articulation  of  these  sounds  is  often  unsatis- 
factory owing  to  the  lower  jaw  not  being  moved 
down  sufficiently,  the  teeth  being  hardly  separated. 
The  back  vowels  gain  in  quality  (cp.  §  36)  if  they  are 
produced  with  lip  rounding.  The  opening  is  large  in 
the  case  of  the  sounds  in  which  the  tongue  is  only 
slightly  raised;  as  it  rises  higher,  the  opening  of  the 
lips  grows  smaller,  until  for  [u]  it  is  only  the  size  of 
the  end  of  an  ordinary  lead  pencil.  This  lip  rounding 
is  rare  with  southern  English  speakers  who  have  not 
had  special  voice  training ;  they  usually  bring  together 
or  separate  the  lips  without  rounding. 

The  short  vowel  sound  in  not,  what,  etc.,  is  a  laxly 
articulated,  open  [o],  much  more  open  than  any  o  in 
French  or  German,  with  the  front  of  the  tongue  even 
lower  than  for  [a].  It  is  lengthened  a  little  before 
a  voiced  final  consonant,  as  in  dog  [dog];  but  it 
should  never  be  made  quite  long.  The  pronunciation 
[gold]  for  God  is  detestable.  Before  ss  [s],  st  [st], 
sp  [sp],  th  [&],  and  /,  ff,  or  ph  [f],  the  long  sound  is 
occasionally  heard.  Determine  whether  in  the  follow- 
ing words  you  use  the  long  or  the  short  sound :  loss, 


Back  Vowels  65 

lost,  froth,  cross,  cough,  soft,  coffee,  off,  officer,  cloth,  moss, 
gospel.     Extend  the  inquiry  to  your  friends. 

When  the  short  [o]  is  in  an  unstressed  syllable  it 
either  disappears  entirely  (as  in  lesson,  where  the  [n]  is 
syllabic,  see  §  24),  or  it  may  become  [9],  as  in  minor 
[maina],  or  it  may  become  the  sound  [6],  which  will 
be  explained  in  §  44.  Thus  October  is  [ok'touba]  or 
[ok'touba] ;  connect  is  [ko'nekt]  only  in  precise  speech, 
but  usually  [ko'nekt]  or  [ko'nekt]. 

The  long  [o]  in  law,  laud,  lord  is  rather  tensely 
articulated,  certainly  not  so  laxly  as  the  short  [o].1 
Before  voiceless  sounds  the  vowel  is  somewhat 
shortened,  as  in  short  (compare  shawl  and  shot).  It 
is  in  standard  English  the  only  sound  of  stressed  or 
(or  oar)  before  a  consonant;2  there  is  no  difference 
in  sound  between  laud  and  lord,  fought  and  fort,  stalk 
and  stork,  cawed  and  cord.  It  is  true  that  some 
speakers  try  to  make  a  distinction.  The  long  [01]  is 
not  a  simple  long  vowel,  but  really  a  diphthong 
of  which  the  second  element  is  [o] 3 ;  and  in  words 
containing  a  written  r,  these  precise  speakers  some- 
what lengthen  the  [9]  element.  Thus  they  will  say 
[lo:ed]  for  laud,  and  [lo:9d]  for  lord.  It  may  be  added 
that  they  generally  do  so  only  if  the  distinction  has 
been  spoken  about,  and  they  have  expressed  their 
firm  belief  in  its  existence;  then,  for  a  while,  the 
[0:9]  may  be  heard.  A  simple  test,  which  the  student 
should  apply  to  his  friends,  is  that  of  asking  them 

1  For  [o;]  see  the  diagram  on  p.  125. 
8  Exceptions  are  borrow,  etc.,  work,  attorney,  etc. 
3  To  pronounce  this  [a]  distinctly  in  such  words  as  law,  saw, 
is  a  mistake. 
£ 


66        The  Sounds  of  Spoken  English 

to  write  down  the  word  he  utters.  If  he  says  [foit], 
meaning  fought,  most  people  will  write  down  fort, 
because  the  sound  gives  them  no  guidance,  and  the 
substantive  is  likely  to  occur  to  them  first.  Similarly, 
if  he  says  [lo:d],  meaning  laud,  they  will  write  down 
lord.1 

The  word  lore,  which  hardly  occurs  in  ordinary 
speech,  is  often  pronounced  [loia]  in  order  to  dis- 
tinguish it  from  law,  the  [o]  sound  being  much  more 
distinct  than  in  law,  more,  bore,  etc.  Consider  the 
value  of  -ore-  in  more  water,  and  in  more  ink. 

There  is  much  variation  in  the  pronunciation  of 
the  words  daunt,  flaunt,  gaunt,  gauntlet,  haunch,  haunt, 
jaundice,  jaunt,  launch,  laundry,  paunch,  saunter,  staunch, 
taunt,  vaunt.  The  general  tendency  seems  to  be  in 
favour  of  [o:],  not  [ai]. 

When  unstressed,  the  sound  is  often  shortened  to 
[o]  or  [6]2;  thus  autumnal  becomes  [o'tAmnol]  or 
[o'tAmnol] ;  or  when  stressed  is  [o:],  unstressed  [o]  or 
[6]  or  [el. 

A  variety  of  the  open  [o],  not  equally  open  in  all 
speakers  of  standard  English,  is  the  first  element  in 
the  diphthong  found  in  boy  [boi].  The  pronunciation 
[boi2]  is  also  heard. 

1  It  is  absurd  to  speak  of  fort  and  caught,  morn  and  damn  as 
"  cockney  "  rimes  ;  they  are  perfectly  good  rimes  in  standard 
English  ;  and  a  southern  Englishman  only  shows  ignorance  by 
speaking  of  them  as  bad.  Considering,  however,  that  standard 
English  is  by  no  means  universal,  the  would-be  poet  is  advised 
to  avoid  these  rimes. 

a  For  [o]  see  the  note  on  p.  68. 


The  O  Sounds  67 

In  vulgar  speech  [oi]  sometimes  becomes  [ai] ;  thus 
boil  is  pronounced  [bail].  Only  in  choir  (also  written 
quire)  is  this  pronunciation  current  in  good  speech. 

Utter  the  sound  usually  called  "  long  o"  and  found  44. 
in  bode,  boat,  etc, ;  you  will  observe  that  the  sound  is 
not  uniform,  as  the  tongue  rises  a  little  before  the 
consonant  is  reached.1  Indeed  the  action  of  the 
tongue  is  quite  similar  to  what  we  noticed  in  the 
case  of  [ei]  in  §  41 ;  and  also  to  [i:j]  or  [ni]  in  §  42, 
where,  however,  it  is  less  obvious  to  the  ear.  The 
diphthongal  character  of  the  "  long  o  "  is  so  essential, 
that  when  a  stranger  merely  says  [oinoi]  for  oh  no  / 
we  at  once  recognise  that  he  is  not  English. 

The  first  element  of  this  diphthong  is  a  middle  [o], 
sometimes  a  fairly  close  [o] ;  in  standard  English  the 
[o]  is  never  so  close  as  in  French  [o]  or  in  German 
[o:].2  (Watch  foreigners  when  theyutter  these  sounds; 
notice  how  tensely  they  articulate,  and  how  much 
more  they  round  their  lips  than  we  do.)  In  cockney 
speech  the  first  element  is  pronounced  with  the 
tongue  lower  and  raised  in  front. — The  second  is  a 
M  sound ;  place  a  finger  against  the  interval  between 
the  upper  and  lower  teeth,  and  notice  how  they  are 
brought  a  little  closer  towards  the  end  of  the  diph- 
thong. Observe  also  the  action  of  the  lips.  The 
diphthong  is  longer  before  voiced  than  before 
voiceless  continuants ;  verify  this  statement  by  say- 

1  In  the  case  of  this  diphthong  as  well  as  in  that  in  name, 
pail,  etc.  (see  §  41),  untrained  singers  usually  betray  themselves 
by  passing  too  soon  to  the  second  part  of  the  diphthong. 

8  For  [o]  see  the  diagram  on  p.  124. 


68       The  Sounds  of  Spoken  English 

ing,  or  getting  others  to  say,  bode  and  boat,  goad  and 
goat,  robe  and  rope,  brogue  and  broke, 

In  syllables  that  are  weakly  stressed,  the  first 
part  of  the  diphthong  becomes  [o],  [6] l  or  even  [o], 
the  second  part  disappearing  altogether.  Thus  fellow 
is  in  precise  speech  [feloiu],  but  in  ordinary  speech 
[felo,  felo],  and  in  careless  (but  not  necessarily 
vulgar)  speech  [felo].2  In  "  ladies'  speech  "  the  [6u] 
occurs  even  in  stressed  syllables,  and  may  then  be 
confidently  described  as  a  sign  of  affectation. 

The  prefix  pro-,  when  stressed,  is  generally  pro- 
nounced [prou].  In  process  and  progress  [pro]  is 
sometimes  heard;  in  the  substantives  project  and 
produce  it  is  the  rule. 

45.  The  u  sounds  are  clearly  parallel  to  the  i  sounds. 
In  both  cases  we  have  a  laxly  articulated  short  sound, 
and  a  diphthong  in  which  the  tongue  rises  towards 
the  end. 

The  short  sound  in  would,  look,  etc.,  is  open,  and 
the  sign  for  it  is  [u].  Do  you  notice  any  difference 
in  the  length  of  the  vowel  sound  in  the  words  should 
and  put,  pull  and  cook  t  Observe  others,  if  you  are 
uncertain  in  your  own  case.  (You  will  sometimes 
find  it  hard  to  determine  what  is  your  natural,  in- 
stinctive way  of  pronouncing  a  word,  when  once 

1  [6]  is  [o]  pronounced  with  the  whole  body  of  the  tongue 
more  forward  than  usual.     To  the  ear  it  gives  an  effect  like 
that  of  French  eu  or  German  6 ;  but  for  these  sounds  the  lips 
are  rounded. 

2  The  pronunciations  [wind9,  pita]  for  window,  pillow  are, 
however,  avoided  by  educated  speakers. 


The  U  Sounds  69 

you  have  grown  accustomed  to  watching  your  own 
speech.) 

When  this  [u]  is  unstressed  it  becomes  [ii]1  or  [9], 
or  is  dropped  altogether.  Thus  helpful  becomes 
[helpful,  helpfel],  and  should  becomes  [$iid,  Jad, 
Jd,  $t]. 

The  vowel  sound  in  who  is  not  uniform.  (See 
what  was  said  about  the  corresponding  i  sound  in 
§  42).  It  may  begin  as  close  [u]2,  in  which  case  the 
further  rising  towards  the  end  reduces  the  passage 
so  much  that  we  have  [w] ;  who  in  this  case  is 
[huiw].  Or  the  vowel  may  begin  fairly  open  and 
rise  to  the  close  position;  then  who  is  [hum]. 
When  the  diphthong  is  followed  by  a  voiceless 
sound,  it  is  somewhat  shortened;  hoot  is  [huwt] 
or  [huut] ;  compare  root  with  rude.  A  half-long 
vowel  is  now  generally  heard  in  room ;  some  speakers 
make  it  quite  short. 

In  unstressed  syllables  the  first  element  is 
shortened  and  often  becomes  [ii];  thus  July  is 
[dsiiw'lai]. 

Before  [9]  the  diphthong  loses  its  second  element ; 
cruel  is  [krual].  When  the  [o]  represents  a  written 
r,  the  first  element  often  changes  to  a  vowel  with 
lower  tongue  position.  Thus  poor  is  pronounced 
[pU9,  poa],  and  some  educated  speakers  of  southern 
English  even  say  [po:],  riming  with  door,  floor ;  but 

1  [ii]  is  [u]  pronounced  with  the  whole  body  of  the  tongue 
more  forward  than  usual  To  the  ear  it  gives  an  effect  like 
that  of  French  u  or  German  ii  ;  but  for  these  sounds  the  lips 
are  rounded. 

a  For  [a]  see  the  diagram  on  p.  124. 


yo       The  Sounds  of  Spoken  English 

this  can  hardly  be  considered  standard  English. 
Notice  also  the  various  pronunciations  of  your,  sure. 
Before  spoken  [r],  as  in  poorest,  enduring,  the  [9] 
becomes  very  faint  or  disappears. 

The  so-called  "  long  u  "  in  such  words  as  due,  dew, 
dude  consists  of  three  parts.  The  second  and  third 
are  the  vowel  sounds  in  do,  which  have  just  been 
discussed ;  the  first  is  [j],  which  after  voiceless  sounds 
tends  to  become  the  voiceless  [9]  and  even  [J],  as 
was  mentioned  in  §34.  Thus  tune  is  in  ordinary 
speech  [tjuwn],  and  often  [t9uwn] ;  in  careless  speech 
it  may  even  become  [tjuwn]. 

The  -ture  in  nature,  creature,  forfeiture,  etc.,  is 
generally  pronounced  [tje] l ;  the  pronunciation  [tjo] 
or  [tjii]  sounds  affected  in  ordinary  speech.  Venture 
is  usually  [ventje],  sometimes  [venjo],  [ventjo],  or 
[ventjii].  Censure  is  always  [senjo], 

In  allude,  *allusion,  lute,  lucent,  luminous,  *flute, 
salute,  *absolute,  *absolution,  dissolute,  *dissolution, 
*  superstition,  *Susan  both  [uw]  and  [juw]  may  be 
heard ;  [uw]  is  probably  more  common  in  the  words 
marked  with  an  asterisk.  Precise  speakers  prefer 
[juw]  in  all  the  words  given.  In  assume,  presume 
[juw]  is  regularly  heard.  As  a  rule  [j]  is  not 
inserted  after  [r],  [J],  [3],  or  consonant  plus  [1]. 

Notice  the  pronunciation  of  casual  [ksesual] 
or  [kaeswel],  sensual  [senjuol],  usual  [juwsual]  or 
],  visual  [vizjugl].  Educate  is  [edjukeit]  or 
;  careful  speakers  prefer  the  former. 

As  the  "  long  u  "  begins  with  a  consonantal  sound 
1  See  also  §29. 


Back  Vowels  71 

it  is  correct  to  say  a  uniform,  a  university,  a  union, 
a  European,  a  eulogy.  To  write  an  before  such  words 
is  a  gross  mistake. 

We  find  the  [u]  element  changed  in  unstressed 
syllables ;  thus  value  becomes  [vaeljti],  regular  becomes 
[regjiila,  regjola],  and,  very  colloquially,  [regie]. 

We  are  now  able  to  give  the  whole  series  of 
vowels  from  [u]  to  [a]  occurring  in  standard  English  : 

ii        close  u  (diagram, 

/  P-  124) 

open  u 

/ 
close  o  (diagram,  p.  124) 

/ 
5         middle  o 

/ 
open  o  (diagram,  p.  125) 

/ 
dark  a 

Practise  this  series,  as  was  suggested  in  §  42,  in 
connection  with  the  [i]  to  [a]  series. 


THE  SOUNDS  IN  CONNECTED  SPEECH 

46.  Let    us    take    a    familiar  nursery   rime    as    an 
example  of  simple  conversational  English;    it  will 
serve  to  give  us  some  idea  of  the  problems  which 
have  to  be  considered  when  we  deal  with  the  sounds 
of  connected  speech.     This  is  the  rime : 

sir)  9  SOT)  av  sikspgns  |  e  pokit  ful  9v  rai  |  fo:r  on 
tM.eo.ti  blaekbgidzz  |  beikt  in  9  pai  |  wen  59  pai  waz 
oupnd  |  89  bgjdzz  bi'gaen  t9  sir)  |  wozn(t)  Sset  9 
deinti  dij  |  t9  set  bi'fo:  89  kit). 

47.  Pedantically   precise   speech   is  as   much   out  of 
place  in  the  nursery  as  vulgar  speech ;   therefore  we 
do  not  say,  sirj  ei  SOTJ  ov  siksp^ns. 

Notice  that  the  following  words  have  strong  and 
weak  forms,  a  weak  form  being  regularly  used  when 
they  are  not  stressed  : — 

weak  strong 


a,  an  . 
the     . 

has 
have  .         . 
had    . 
is 
are 

9,  9n 
Sa  (befon 
Si  (before 
haz,1  az, 
hav,1  av, 
had,1  9d, 
iz,  z,  s 
a(r),  e(r) 

r 
we:a(r) 

;  consonants) 
vowels) 
z 

V 

d 

.     haez 
.     haev 
.     haed 
.     i'z 
.     a:9,  a: 

were  . 
cau 
shall  . 
will    . 
could 
should 

W9(r) 
k9n,  kn   . 

/9l,   9l,  1    . 
91,1              .             .             . 

kad. 
Jad.Jd.Jt,  d    .         . 

•     wa:(r), 
.     keen 
.     Jffil 
.     wil 
.     kud 
.     Jud 

1  These  forms  are  found,  for  instance,  at  the  beginning  of 
questions  ;  thus  have  you  been  there  ?  is  [hav  ju  bijn  Sea]. 
They  are  also  found  after  vowels,  e.g.,  I  had  done  so,  [ai  had 
din  sou]. 
72 


Strong  and  Weak  Forms 


73 


weak                              strong 

would 

wad,  ad,  d 

wud 

must 

mas(t) 

mAst 

do 

du    . 

duw 

does 

daz,  dz 

dAZ 

he 

hi/i 

*»j 

she 
her 

Mri,1  <>(i 

) 

Jij 
na:(r) 

him 

im   . 

him 

his 

IZ       . 

hiz 

we 

wi    . 

wij 

us 

as     . 

AS 

you 

ju,  ja 

juw 

them 

Sam,  (am) 

Gem 

your 

jii(r),  jo(r),  ja(r 

ju:a(r) 

of 

9V      . 

ov 

from 

from,  frm 

from 

to 

ta  (before  consc 

riant 

) 

tu 

for 

fa(r),  fr    . 

fo(r) 

and 

and,  nd,  an,  n 

send 

but 

bat  . 

bAt 

(n)or 

(n)o(r),  (n)e(r) 

(n)o;(r) 

some 

sam,  sm   . 

8Am 

The  use  of  strong  forms  for  weak  ones  in  ordinary 
conversation  is  undoubtedly  a  fault,  and  should  be 
avoided ;  much  of  the  unnatural  reading  aloud  in  our 
schools  is  due  to  this  cause.  Foreigners  who  have 
lived  long  in  England  often  fail  in  this  respect  when 
they  have  overcome  almost  all  other  difficulties.  It 
is  also  not  uncommon  in  the  speech  of  colonials. 

Notice  [pens],  but  [sikspans]. 

A  word  which  forms  the  second  part  of  a  com- 
pound often  changes  in  pronunciation,  a  weaker  form 
being  substituted.  Compare  penny  and  halfpenny, 
board  and  cupboard,  come  and  welcome,  day  and  yester- 
day, ways  and  always,  fast  and  breakfast,  mouth  and 
Portsmouth,  land  and  England,  ford  and  Oxford. 

The  first  letter  of  the  second  part  is  sometimes 
1  See  the  note  on  p.  72. 


74        The  Sounds  of  Spoken  English 

dropped ;  thus  the  w  in  housewife  (case  for  needles, 
etc.)  [hAzif],  Greenwich,  Harwich,  Woolwich,  Norwich, 
Keswick,  Warwick  is  no  longer  pronounced,  nor  the 
h  in  shepherd,  forehead,  Clapham,  Sydenham,  and  in 
many  words  beginning  with  ex-,  e.g.,  exhale?-  exhaust, 
exhibit,  exhilarate,  exhort.  The  dropping  of  h  in 
neighbourhood  is  vulgar. 

Sometimes  there  is  a  change  in  the  first  part  of  a 
compound  word.  Compare  half  and  halfpenny,  three 
and  threepence,  fore  and  forehead,  break  and  breakfast. 

The  stress  of  compounds  like  sixpence  is  discussed 
below  ("  blackbirds  "). 

48.  In  pocket  the  second  vowel  is  not  middle  [«],  but  a 
very  laxly  articulated  variety  of  [i],  with  the  tongue 
only  a  little  higher  than  for  close  [e] ;  see  §  38.  In 
the  speech  of  elocutionists  the  middle  [«]  often  ap- 
pears here.  They  tell  of  the  [garden  ov  ijd<?n], 
just  as  they  succeed  in  pronouncing  [devil]  instead 
of  [devol],  thus  avoiding  all  offence;  for  [devel]  is 
said  by  common  people,  but  [devil]  only  by  the 
polite. 

Notice  that  in  four-and-twenty  the  r  is  pronounced, 
as  it  comes  between  vowels ;  but  it  is  mute  in  before 
the  King,  where  it  comes  before  a  consonant,  as  in 
the  word  forth.  See  §  32. 

49.  In  and  the  d  is  dropped.  Here  it  might  be  a  case 
of  assimilation ;  that  is  to  say  the  t  which  imme- 

1  When  contrasted  with  inhale,  this  word  is  also  pro- 
nounced [eksheii]. 


Assimilation  75 

diately  follows,  and  which  is  closely  akin  to  it,  might 
have  changed  it  to  [t],  and  the  two  would  have 
fallen  together. 

In  sit  down,  do  you  utter  both  [t]  and  [d]1  If 
you  speak  naturally,  you  probably  say  [sidaun]  or 
[sitaun].  What  is  your  pronunciation  of  hold  tight, 
less  zeal  f 

In  cupboard  none  but  the  absurdly  precise  pro- 
nounce the  [p]. 

Assimilation  of  consonants  is  common  in  English, 
and  the  more  colloquial  the  speech  is,  the  more 
assimilation  you  are  likely  to  find.  Assimilation 
reduces  the  number  of  movements  which  have  to  be 
made,  and  thus  represents  a  saving  of  trouble ;  and 
in  colloquial  speech  we  incline  to  take  as  little 
trouble  as  possible. 

The  general  rule  is,  that  when  two  sounds  come 
together,  those  movements  of  articulation  which  are 
common  to  both  are  executed  once  only.  Thus  in 
don't,1  the  stopping  of  the  passage  for  [n]  also  does 
duty  for  [t] ;  it  is  the  opening  of  the  passage  which 
constitutes  the  ft].  In  stamp  the  closure  for  fm] 
also  does  duty  for  fp].  In  witness  the  closure  for  ft] 
remains  for  fn],  which  merely  requires  the  opening 
of  the  nose-passage  and  vibration  of  the  vocal  chords. 

Utter  the  word  dean,  and  observe  whether  you 
produce  the  fk]  in  the  same  way  as  in  keen ;  probably 
you  will  find  that  for  the  fk]  of  dean  you  open  the 

1  The  change  in  the  quality  of  the  vowel  ia  interesting  ; 
possibly  don't  preserves  the  old  pronunciation  of  the  vowel 
in  do. 


76        The  Sounds  of  Spoken  English 

closure  only  at  the  sides,  leaving  the  centre  of  the 
tongue  in  contact,  ready  for  the  production  of  [1]. 
See  whether  anything  similar  happens  when  you  say 
the  word  atlas. 

Sometimes  a  voiced  sound  makes  a  neighbouring 
sound  voiced,  or  a  voiceless  sound  makes  a  neighbour- 
ing sound  voiceless.  Examples  in  the  nursery  rime 
are  [baidzz]  and  [beikt];  find  similar  examples  of 
the  s  of  the  plural J  and  the  ed  of  the  past  participle, 
and  determine  in  each  case  whether  the  final  sound 
is  voiced  or  voiceless.  Try  to  find  pairs  like  lagged 
and  lacked,  bids  and  bits. 

Utter  the  words  apt,  act,  and  notice  carefully 
when  you  make  the  closure  for  [t] ;  probably  it  is 
earlier  than  you  would  have  thought.  Do  you  make 
the  [n]  closure  in  open  before  or  after  the  [p] 
opening  1 

In  compound  words,  and  in  neighbouring  words 
which  belong  closely  together,  assimilation  is  com- 
mon. When  one  word  ends  in  a  voiceless  sound  and 
the  other  begins  with  a  voiced  sound,  or  vice  versa,  it 
is  usually  the  second  which  prevails.  Observe 
cupboard  [kAbad],  raspberry  [raizbari],  blackguard 
[blaegaid],  bedtime  [betaim],  hold  tight  [houltaitj. 

Consider  the  pronunciation  of  observe,  obstacle, 
gooseberry,  absolve,  absolute. 

In  careless  speech  [hoiju]  is  heard  for  [ho:sju], 
[laedbru  grouv]  does  duty  for  Ladbroke  Grove,  and 
[hasijn]  for  has  seen.  Is  she  is  regularly  pronounced 
[i3  Ji],  or  [iji]  in  quick  conversation. 

The  nasals  frequently  change  to  suit  the  place  of 

1  Strictly  speaking  the  s  of  the  plural  was  always  voiced  in  the 
older  language,  and  it  is  in  cats,  tips  that  we  have  assimilation. 


Assimilation  77 

articulation  of  the  following  sound,  as  in  congress 
[korjgres],  congregation  [korjgri'gei$9n],  anchor,  concave, 
conclusion,  concowrse,  concrete,  syncope,  tranquil,  unctuous, 
pincushion  [pirjku$9n],  infamous  [imfomos],  Holland 
Park  [holompaik] ;  or  of  the  preceding  sound,  as  in 
second  single  [sekrjsirjgal],  captain  [kaepm],  open  the 
door  [oupm  59  do:],  cup  and  saucer  [kApmso:s9J. 
The  examples  from  pincushion  onwards  occur  only 
in  distinctly  careless  speech. 

The  change  of  [s]  to  [z]  in  house,  houses  [haus, 
hauziz],  shows  a  different  kind  of  assimilation. 

The  dropping  of  din  fow-and-twenty  might  also  be  50, 
due  to  the  desire  to  simplify  a  group  of  consonants  ; 
and  this  will  seem  the  more  likely  explanation  if  we 
notice  that  the  d  of  and  is  generally  dropped  before 
a  consonant,  but  kept  before  a  vowel.  Compare  you 
and  Ida,  bread  and  butter  •  if  you  drop  the  d  in  the  first 
instance,  or  utter  it  in  the  second,  you  are  equally 
wrong.  Such  simplifying  is  fairly  common  in  educated 
speech ;  most  people  drop  the  t  in  often,  and  the  p  in 
empty  (where  it  has  no  etymological  justification),  and 
jumped ;  in  colloquial  speech  don't  know  is  [dAnou]. 
In  quite  careless  speech  you  may  notice  consonants 
dropped  in  such  words  as  acts,  insects,  but  this  is 
clearly  a  licence  which  cannot  be  permitted  in  the 
class-room.  Indeed  these  groups  of  consonants  should 
be  articulated  with  great  care.  Nothing  so  quickly 
gives  an  effect  of  slovenly  speech  as  the  slurring  of 
consonants,  where  it  is  not  generally  adopted. 

In  ordinary  speech  numerous  instances  occur  of 


78        The  Sounds  of  Spoken  English 

this  tendency  to  simplify  groups  of  consonants,  d 
and  /  being  the  sounds  most  frequently  dropped. 

d  is  not  pronounced  in  handkerchief  [haer)kat$if], 
handsome  [hsensom],  Windsor  [winza],  Cruildford 
[gilfa'd],  Ingoldsby[ir)gQ\zbi], ) Wednesday [wenzdi]1 
The  d  in  friends,  grandfather  is  also  often 
dropped ;  and,  in  very  careless  speech,  the  d  of 
such  words  as  old,  cold,  child,  thousand,  kindness, 
landlord. 

t  is  not  pronounced  in  christen  [krisan],  glisten 
[glisan],  hasten  [heisan],  listen  [lisan],  moisten 
[moisan],  apostle  [o'posal],  bustle  [bAsal],  castle 
[ka:sal],  epistle  [i'pisal],  gristle  [grisal],  hustk 
[hAsal],  ostler  [osla],  pestle  [pesal],  rustle  [FASO!], 
thistle  [0isol],  trestle  [tresol],  whistle  [wisol], 
wrestle  [resol],  *Westbourne  [wesban],  *  West- 
minster [wesminste],  Christmas  [krismas],  chestnut 
[tjesnot],  coastguard  [kousgaid],  often  [oifan], 
soften  [so:  fen],  mortgage  [moigids],  *  directly 
[di'rekli],  * 'exactly  [i'gzsekli],  postpone  [pous'poun], 
waistcoat  [weiskot,  wesket],  bankruptcy  [baegk- 
repsi]. 

In  very  careless  speech  the  t  of  such  words  as 
slept,  swept,  wept  is  dropped;  also  in  acts,  facts, 
insects,  sects. 

Notice  the  French  rosbif,  Ufteck. 

th  is  not  pronounced  in  asthma  [aesme],  isthmus 
[ismas]  and  (carelessly)  in  depths. 

p    is    not    pronounced    in    empty    [emti],    jumped 

1  The  first  d  is  sometimes  heard  in  the  pronunciation  of  this 
word. 


Consonant  Groups  Simplified          79 


tempt  [temt],  attempt  [e'temt],  contempt 
[kan'temt],    peremptory    [per'emtari],     symptom 
[simtem],1  sapphire  [saefaia],  Sappho  [ssefou]. 
c    is  not  pronounced  in  corpuscle  [koi'pAsol],  miiscle 
[niAsal],  victuals  [vitlz],  indict  [in'dait].2 

So  many  educated  speakers  say  [a:st]  for  asked, 
that  this  pronunciation  must  be  regarded  as  no  longer 
incorrect. 

What  is  the  usual  pronunciation  of  next  station  ? 

In  careful  speech  the  simplifications  marked  with 
an  asterisk  are  avoided,  as  also  such  pronunciations 
as  [ail  dsAssij]  for  I'll  just  see,  [difikl  kwestjnz]  for 
difficult  questions.  The  omission  of  [k]  in  the  pro- 
nunciation of  arctic  and  antarctic  and  of  [g]  in  recognise 
is  generally  regarded  as  faulty. 

Unfamiliar  groups  of  consonants  at  the  beginning 
of  words  are  simplified  by  dropping  the  first  sound  ; 
notice  the  simplification  of 

bd  in  bdellium; 

chth  in  chthonian; 

gn  in  gnaw,  gneiss,  gnome,  gnostic  ; 

gz  (x)  in  Xerxes  [zo:ksijz],  Xenophon  ; 

kn  in  knee,  knit,  know,  etc.  ; 

mn  in  mnemonic; 

phth  in  phthisis  [0aisis],  also  [taisis]  ; 

1  It  should,  however,  be  noted  that  in  passing  from  [m]  to 
[t]  there  is  a  transitional  sound  or  "glide"  which  has  the 
value  of  a  faint  [p]. 

2  The  c  in  victuals  and  indict  has  no  etymological  justifica- 
tion, as  may  be  seen  from  the  middle  English  spelling  (mtaille, 
endtte). 


So        The  Sounds  of  Spoken  English 

pn      in  pneumatic,  pneumonia ; 

ps      in  psalm,     pseudo-,     Psyche,     psychic    [saikik], 

psychology,  etc. ; 
pi       in  ptarmigan,  Ptolemy  ; 
sw      becomes  s  in  sword  (observe  also  answer) ; 
wr      in  wreck,  write,  etc. 

Similarly,  an  unfamiliar  group  at  the  end  of  a 
word  is  simplified,  usually  by  dropping  the  last 
sound ;  notice — 

In      in  kiln  (some  do  not  drop  this  n) ; 

mb     in  bomb,  catacomb,  climb,  comb,  dumb,  hecatomb, 

lamb,  limb,  plumber,  succumb,  tomb ; 
mn     in  autumn,    column,    condemn,    contemn,    hymn, 

limn,  solemn. 

(The  opposite  tendency  is  found  in  vulgar  speech, 
where  [vaimint]  is  said  for  vermin,  [draund]  for 
drown.) 

Observe  drachm  [drsem],  yacht  [jot],  impugn 
[im'pjuwn],  physiognomy  [fizi'onomi],  diaphragm 
[daiofraem],  paradigm  [paeradaim],  phlegm  [flem], 
sign  [sain],  feign,  reign,  foreign,  benign. 

51.  In  [rai]  we  have  a  diphthong.  It  is  worth  noting 
that  the  English  diphthongs  [ai,  au,  oi,  ei,  ou],  etc., 
all  have  the  stress  on  the  former  element 

Blackbirds  and  Hack  birds  :  in  the  spelling  we  dis- 
tinguish these  by  writing  the  first  as  one  word,  the 
second  as  two.  What  difference  is  there  in  the 
sounds  t  If  you  listen  carefully,  you  will  find  that 
the  second  vowel  in  the  compound  word  is  just  a 


Stress  of  the  Compound  Word        81 

little  shorter  than  in  birds  standing  alone,  and  that 
in  blackbirds  the  opening  of  the  closure  for  [k]  is  not 
heard,  while  in  black  birds  it  may  be  audible.  The 
chief  difference,  however,  lies  in  the  stress  of  the 
compound  word.  Blackbirds  is  an  example  of 
descending  stress  [  >  ],  black  birds  is  pronounced  with 
level  stress  [  =  ],  perhaps  with  ascending  stress  [  <  ]. 
Take  the  following  compound  words  or  groups, 
and  classify  them  according  to  their  stress  : — 

Sixpence,  rainbow,  good  morning,  looking  glass,  moon- 
shine, bravo  !  twenty-four,  twenty-four  men,  High  Street, 
London  Road,  waterspout,  right  of  way,  undo,  Mr  Jones, 
Park  Lane,  season  ticket,  sunflower,  Hongkong,  steel  pen, 
Chinese,  hallo !  bill  of  fare,  earthquake,  sea  wall,  Bond 
Street,  Grosvenor  Square,  fourteen,  Hyde  Park. 

Try  to  deduce  some  rules  from  these  examples. 
It  has  been  said  that  level  stress  contrasts,  and 
uneven  stress  unites  the  ideas  expressed  by  the  com- 
pound words ;  do  you  agree  with  this  1 

Notice  what  difficulty  our  level  stress  gives  to  the 
German ;  he  will  utter  steel  pen,  Hyde  Park,  etc., 
with  descending  stress.    Do  so  yourself,  and  observe 
how  strange  it  sounds. 
Notice  the  difference  in  stress  of 
Substantive  or  Adjective         Verb 

absent  to  absent 

accent  to  accent 

consort  to  consort 

converse  to  converse 

desert  to  desert 

prefix  to  prefix 

present  to  present 


82        The  Sounds  of  Spoken  English 

Substantive  Verb 

proceeds  to  proceed 

produce  to  produce 

project  to  project 

protest  to  protest 

rebel  to  rebel 

record  to  record 

refuse  to  refuse 

Substantive  Adjective 

compact  compact 

instinct  instinct 

minute  minute 

Some  words  of  two  syllables  have  the  stress  on 
the  first  or  the  second  syllable  according  to  their 
place  in  the  sentence.  Consider  the  accent  of  the 
italicised  words  in  the  following  sentences  :  They 
sat  outside.  An  outside  passenger.  Among  the 
Chinese.  A  Chinese  lantern.  His  age  is  fifteen.  I 
have  fifteen  shillings.  Some  fell  by  the  wayside.  A 
wayside  inn.  Try  to  find  a  rule  governing  these 
cases. 

The  stresses  in  a  sentence  are  considered  in  §  54. 

When  would  be  pronounced  as  voiceless  [M]  by 
some,  hardly  by  a  southern  English  nurse  saying 
the  rime  (§  46).  Notice  how  the  tongue  movesforward 
as  the  [n]  passes  over  into  the  [8]  in  when  the. 

Was  is  in  the  weak  form  because  it  is  quite 
unstressed ;  but  notice  :  [ws:9  ju  riiali  5e:9  ?  jes,  ai 
woz]. 


Syllables  83 

In  opened,  observe  carefully  how  the  consonants  52. 
are    articulated,    and    put    their    action    down   in 
writing. 

How  many  syllables  are  there  in  opened,  bubbles, 
chasms,  mittens  1 

Probably  you  have  no  difficulty  in  understanding 
and  answering  this  question,  but  if  asked  to  describe 
a  syllable  you  might  hesitate,  for  it  is  not  easy. 

Utter  [a]  and  then  [t];  which  carries  farther, 
which  has  greater  fulness  of  sound  or  sonority  ?  If 
you  wished  to  attract  the  attention  of  some  one,  and 
were  only  allowed  to  utter  one  of  these  two  sounds, 
you  would  prefer  [a]  without  hesitation.  Why  is  [a] 
more  sonorous  than  [t]?  Because,  whereas  [t]  is 
only  a  brief  noise,  in  [a]  the  current  of  breath  is 
rendered  musical  by  the  vibration  of  the  vocal 
chords,  and  has  a  free  passage  through  the  wide 
open  mouth.  Indeed  [a]  is  the  most  sonorous  of  all 
sounds.  It  is  clear  that  voiced  sounds  are  more 
sonorous  than  voiceless,  vowels  than  consonants, 
continuants  than  stops.  The  liquids  and  nasals 
stand  between  vowels  and  consonants  in  point  of 
sonority  ;  they  are  voiced  and  with  either  a  fair  pas- 
sage through  the  mouth  or  a  free  passage  through 
the  nose.  A  good  deal  naturally  depends  on  the 
force  and  the  pitch  of  the  sounds ;  a  whispered  [a] 
may  not  carry  so  far  as  a  forcible  [sj. 

Now  if  a  sound  with  good  carrying  power  has  for 
its  neighbours  sounds  that  do  not  carry  far,  it  helps 
them  to  be  heard ;  notice  how  such  weakly  sonorous 
sounds  as  [t]  or  [p]  occurring  in  the  words  of  a  song 
are  quite  clearly  heard  at  the  other  end  of  a  large 


84        The  Sounds  of  Spoken  English 

concert  hall.  They  are  carried  along  by  the  full  sound- 
ing vowels,  as  the  greater  volume  of  air  employed 
causes  more  pressure,  and  hence  a  more  forcible 
and  louder  release.  It  is  the  sounds  of  greater 
sonority  that  carry  the  syllable,  which  term  is  also 
applied  to  a  vowel  standing  alone,  or  beside  other 
vowels  of  practically  equal  sonority.  In  English, 
the  syllable  is  generally  carried  by  vowels;  some- 
times also  by  liquids  and  nasals,  which  are  then 
called  syllabic.1 

Rules  for  dividing  words  into  syllables  are  given 
in  most  grammars,  and  are  required  for  writing  and 
printing ;  but  they  do  not  always  represent  the 
actual  state  of  things.  When  a  consonant  comes 
between  two  vowels,  it  really  belongs  to  both 
syllables.  In  leaving  we  pronounce  neither  lea-ving 
nor  leav-ing. 

From  the  phonetic  point  of  view  we  may  think  of 
words  and  groups  of  words  as  consisting  of  a  series 
of  sounds  of  varying  sonority.  We  may  indicate 
the  sonority  very  roughly  by  lines;  if  we  connect 
their  top  ends,  we  shall  obtain  a  curve.  Thus  the 
word  sonority  might  be  represented  as  follows  (no 
attempt  is  here  made  at  scientific  accuracy). 


sonority 

1  For  syllabic  m  see  §  22  ;  for  syllabic  n,  §  24  ;  for  syllabic 


Stress  of  the  Sentence  85 

The  curves  will  represent  a  series  of  waves ;  and 
each  of  these  waves  is  a  syllable. 

Began :  notice  the  quality  of  the  vowel  in  the 
first,  unstressed  syllable  of  this  word.  It  is  higher 
than  any  real  «  sound,  and  is  very  laxly  articulated. 
It  occurs  also  in  before,  enough,  inquire;  find  other 
words  in  which  it  occurs.  Is  it  the  same  sound  as 
the  second  vowel  in  lily  1 

To  sing:  read  the  sixth  b'ne  quite  naturally  and 
see  whether  you  say  [to]  or  [tu] ;  get  friends  to  read 
it,  and  find  out  what  they  say. 

When  you  wish  to  ascertain  how  a  friend  pronounces 
some  particular  sound,  do  not  tell  him  what  this  sound  is, 
or  he  may  pronounce  it  not  naturally,  but  in  what  he 
believes,  or  has  been  told,  is  "  the  correct  pronunciation." 

Try  to  ascertain  the  pronunciation  of  these  sen- 
tences: What  are  you  going  to  do  to-morrow  morn- 
ing 1  Tm  going  to  answer  letters. 

Wasn't  that:  was  is  here  in  the  strong  form  (§  47); 
are  weak  forms  found  at  the  beginning  of  a  sen- 
tence ?  Notice  the  syllabic  [n] ;  also  the  simpli- 
fication of  the  group  of  consonants  by  the  omission 
of  [t].  What  is  the  weak  form  of  that  ?  When  is  it 
used? 

The  remaining  words  present  nothing  of  special 
interest. 

We  may  now  consider  the  stress  of  the  sentence.  53. 
For  this  purpose  it  is  sufficient  to  consider  the  most 
sonorous  part  of  each  syllable,  generally  speaking  a 
vowel.     We  may  distinguish  stress  and  absence  of 


86        The  Sounds  of  Spoken  English 

stress,  which  we  can  designate  by  the  signs  /  and  x  ; 
extra  strong  stress  will  be  //,  and  secondary  stress  \ . 
The  first  line  of  Sing  a  Song  of  Sixpence,  will  then 
run: — 

//    x    /    x    //  \ 

Here  "  sing  "  and  "  six  "  have  the  strongest  stress ; 
"song"  has  ordinary  stress. 

Secondary  stress  is  given    to   that  syllable  of  a 

word  which  is  stressed,  but  has  not  the  chief  stress ; 

thus  the  stresses  in  energetic  may  be  written  \  x  /  x  . 

The   nursery    rhyme   then   shows   the   following 

stresses : — 

//  x  /  x  //  \ 
x  II  *  I  *  II 
II  x  \  x  //  \ 
//  \  x  // 
//  x  /  x  //  \ 
x  //  x  /  x  // 
//  x  /  x  //  x  / 

X    //    X    /    X      // 

Perhaps  you  do  not  read  the  poem  in  this  way ; 
mark  the  stresses  for  yourself,  without  looking  at 
the  book. 

Accept  no  statements  without  verifying  them. 

53A.  It  will  have  struck  you  that  you  have  really  been 
scanning  the  poem.  Hitherto  you  may  have  done 
it  by  means  of  the  signs  -  and  w  ,  taken  from 
Latin  prosody,  where  they  stand  for  "long"  and 
"  short."  Consider  the  question  which  of  these  two 
systems  of  scansion  is  the  more  accurate  and  the 
more  convenient 


Scanning  87 

It  may  also  strike  you  that  in  reading  the  poem  53fi 
we  do  not  make  a  pause  at  the  end  of  each  word ; 
and  of  course  we  do  not  read  it  "all  in  one  breath." 
How  many  breaths  do  you  require  for  reading  it 
slowly  1  for  reading  it  quickly  ?  What  guides  you 
in  finding  places  for  your  pauses  ?  Take  any  dozen 
lines  of  prose  and  read  them  aloud ;  notice  where 
you  pause  for  breath.  The  words  which  are  read 
together  in  one  breath  are  called  a  breath  group. 
After  considering  several  passages  from  this  point 
of  view,  you  will  realise  that  good  reading  depends 
to  some  extent  on  the  choice  of  suitable  places  for 
taking  breath.  Let  your  friends  read  to  you,  and 
observe  how  they  manage  their  breath. 

We  have  spoken  several  times  of  stress,  and  you  54. 
have  probably  followed  without  difficulty.  What  is 
stress?  Utter  the  series  of  sounds  ['atata],  then 
[a'tata],  and  [ata'ta].  *  You  use  more  force  for  the 
stressed  than  for  the  unstressed  vowels,  that  is  to 
say,  you  put  more  breath  into  them.  Place  your 
hand  close  in  front  of  your  lips  as  you  say  the 
above  sounds,  and  you  will  notice  a  distinct  in- 
crease of  breath  as  the  stressed  syllable  is  uttered. 

We  use  this  stress  for  purposes  of  emphasis ;  gene- 
rally speaking,  we  expend  more  breath  on  those 
syllables  of  a  word,  or  words  of  a  sentence,  which 
are  more  important  for  the  meaning.  We  may  say 
that  English  sentence  stress  is  guided  by  logical 
considerations.  Is  this  equally  true  of  French?  of 
German?  Has  anything  struck  you  about  the 
1  The  mark  '  precedes  the  stressed  syllable. 


The  Sounds  of  Spoken  English 

stress  in  French,    or  in   English  as   spoken  by   a 
Frenchman  t 

55.  Stress,  due  to  force  of  breath,  is  not  the  only 
means  of  accentuation  at  our  disposal.  We  can 
also  produce  various  effects  by  changing  the  pitch 
of  the  voice.  When  the  pitch  of  a  voice  hardly 
varies  at  all,  we  consider  it  monotonous.  Certain 
clergymen  have  acquired  the  habit  of  reading  the 
Church  service  in  monotone ;  consider  whether  this 
has  any  advantage  or  disadvantage.  When  there  is 
very  great  and  regular  or  monotonous  variation  of 
pitch  in  a  voice,  we  call  it  a  "  sing-song." 

In  standard  speech  there  is  moderate  variation  of 
pitch  ;  it  becomes  considerable  only  in  dramatic  and 
oratorical  declamation,  when  a  skilled  use  of  pitch 
variations  may  produce  a  deeply  moving  or  highly 
stirring  effect,  somewhat  resembling  that  produced 
by  song. 

Observe  the  pitch  changes  in  ordinary  speech.  The 
most  obvious  case  is  the  rise  of  pitch  in  questions,  in 
contrast  with  the  tendency  to  lower  the  pitch  in  a 
statement.  Even  though  we  have  the  same  order 
of  words  as  in  a  statement,  this  change  of  pitch  alone 
suffices  to  show  that  a  question  is  being  asked.  Say : 
You  are  going  out  and  You  are  going  out  f  Try  to  say 
Are  you  going  out  ?  with  the  same  falling  pitch  as  in 
You  are  going  out,  and  observe  the  strange  effect. 
Determine  the  changes  of  pitch  in  such  questions 
as :  Is  your  brother  tall  or  short  ?  Is  your  uncle's  house 
in  the  town  or  in  the  country  ?  Notice  that  joy  or  any 
great  excitement  leads  to  the  use  of  a  higher  pitch 
than  usual. 


Pitch  89 

Sometimes  the  pitch  may  rise  or  fall,  or  rise  and 
fall,  or  fall  and  rise  during  the  utterance  of  a  single 
vowel.  Say  No  in  a  doubtful,  a  questioning,  a 
decided,  and  a  threatening  tone,  and  observe  the 
pitch.  If  you  wish  to  represent  it  roughly,  you 
may  use  \  for  fall  in  pitch,  /  for  a  rise,  A  f°r  a 
rise  and  fall,  V  f°r  a  fell  and  risa 

We  have  devoted  our  attention  mainly  to  standard  56. 
English  as  it  is  spoken  in  ordinary  life,  because  it  is 
important  to  train  the  ear  so  that  it  perceives  the 
sounds  and  ceases  to  be  misled  by  the  conventional 
spelling.  Only  when  we  can  hear  what  sounds  our 
pupils  actually  utter,  only  when  we  have  a  fair  idea 
of  the  way  in  which  they  produce  these  sounds,  are 
we  in  a  position  to  correct  what  is  faulty  in  the 
mother  tongue,  or  to  impart  the  sounds  of  a  foreign 
language  with  any  prospect  of  success.  Hints  have 
been  given  as  to  some  of  the  faulty  tendencies  likely 
to  be  found  ;  the  teacher  whose  ear  has  been  trained 
in  the  manner  here  suggested  will  be  able  to  add  to 
their  number  without  difficulty,  and  probably  with 
growing  interest.  In  this  respect  every  county 
presents  its  own  problems,  and  many  still  require 
to  be  recorded;  every  teacher  can  help  by  con- 
tributing his  own  observations. 

No  observer  can  fail  to  be  struck  by  the  different 
degrees  of  care  with  which  most  individuals  speak 
English  under  different  circumstances.  In  their  talk 
among  themselves  children,  especially  young  boys, 
are  often  extremely  careless ;  at  home  we  find 
various  degrees  of  care,  much  depending  on  the 


90        The  Sounds  of  Spoken  English 

example  set  by  the  parents  and  the  influence  of 
governesses  and  nurses.  In  talking  to  educated 
strangers,  we  are  usually  careful  in  our  pronuncia- 
tion. If  we  occupy  a  position  which  makes  it 
necessary  to  speak  to  large  numbers,  we  must  be 
particularly  careful,  and  that  in  several  respects : 
the  voice  must  be  pleasant,  carry  far,  and  have 
good  staying  power. 

57.  A  pleasant  voice  is  to  a  certain  degree  a  natural 
gift ;  it  depends  on  the  quality  of  the  vocal  chords, 
the  shape  of  the  roof  of  the  mouth,  and  so  on.  Many 
voices  are  spoilt  by  bad  habits,  such  as  excessive 
nasalising,  or  very  high  pitch.  The  teacher  of  elo- 
cution often  gives  valuable  criticism  and  help  here. 
Listen  attentively  to  any  criticisms  which  your  friends 
make  about  your  voice. 

The  voice  of  a  public  speaker  (which  includes  the 
class  teacher  and  college  lecturer  no  less  than  the 
clergyman,  actor,  or  politician)  must  carry  far.  His 
words  must  penetrate  to  every  hearer,  even  in  a  large 
hall.  If  there  is  any  straining  to  catch  his  words, 
those  words  will  not  produce  their  best  effect.  The 
chief  requirement  is  not  loudness,  but  distinctness.  He 
must  articulate  more  carefully  than  in  ordinary 
conversation :  unstressed  vowels  will  have  greater 
importance  and  be  less  reduced,  consonants  will 
never  be  slurred  over.  The  stressed  vowels  are  the 
most  important  of  all  because  they  are  the  most 
sonorous  sounds  and  help  the  others  (see  §  52) ;  he 
will  let  the  vocal  chords  vibrate  longer  for  them,  to 
reinforce  their  value,  and  he  will  produce  them  in 


Public  Speaking  91 

such  a  way  that  they  give  their  characteristic  sound 
most  clearly.  For  this  purpose  he  will  find  it  best 
to  articulate  more  tensely  (this  applies  also  to  the 
consonants)  than  in  ordinary  speech  ;  and  a  distinct 
rounding  of  the  lips  for  the  back  vowels  will  enable 
him  to  add  to  their  value.  He  will  prefer  to  keep 
the  tongue  point  well  forward  in  the  mouth  for  [1]. 
This  and  other  hints  he  may  obtain  from  the  teacher 
of  elocution. 

However  pleasant  a  voice  may  be,  and  however 
far  it  may  carry,  it  will  yet  be  of  little  use  if  it  tires 
soon  ;  it  must  have  staying  power.  This  again  is  to 
some  extent  a  natural  gift ;  the  throat  may  be  con- 
stitutionally weak.  Training,  however,  can  do  very 
much  to  improve  the  powers  of  endurance.  Above 
all,  good  breathing  is  essential;  hints  have  been 
given  in  §  4  how  this  may  be  assured,  and  the  teacher 
cannot  be  recommended  too  warmly  to  give  from 
15  to  25  minutes  every  morning  to  breathing  exer- 
cises ;  he  will  be  amply  repaid  for  the  time  spent  in 
that  way  by  the  greater  ease  with  which  he  gets 
through  his  teaching,  and  by  the  inevitable  improve- 
ment in  his  general  health.  It  has  also  been  pointed 
out  above  that  bad  ventilation  and  dust  are  calculated 
to  interfere  with  his  voice.  Another  suggestion  may 
be  helpful :  to  keep  the  tongue  as  forward  in  the 
mouth  as  possible.  The  average  tongue  position  in 
many  southern  English  teachers  is  too  far  back  in 
the  mouth,  and  this  is  found  to  lead  to  serious  fatigue ; 
it  may  indeed  be  regarded  as  one  of  the  main  causes 
of  "teachers'  sore  throat." 

It  is  in  giving  advice  on  the  management  of  the 


92        The  Sounds  of  Spoken  English 

voice  for  public  speaking  that  trustworthy  teachers 
of  elocution  are  most  helpful.  When  they  make 
dogmatic  statements  as  to  how  a  sound  or  word  is 
or  should  be  pronounced,  their  guidance  is  not  equally 
satisfactory,  and  the  student  is  earnestly  recom- 
mended always  to  test  their  statements  himself. 
The  same  request  is  addressed  to  him  with  regard 
to  the  present  book ;  if  it  arouses  interest,  there  is 
no  harm  if  it  also  arouses  opposition. 


APPENDIX  1 
Exercises. 

1.  How  is  -ions  pronounced  in  gracious,  bilious, 
victorious  1 

2.  How  is  -ion  pronounced  in  motion,  onion,  criterion, 
vision,  and  Ionian] 

3.  How  is  -ial  pronounced  in  labial,  judicial,  martial, 
partiality  ? 

4.  What  difference  in  pronunciation,  if  any,  do 
you  make  between  hire  and  higher,  lyre  and  liar, 
cure  and  (s)kewer,  alms  and  armsl 

5.  Consider  the  value  of  oar  in  roar  and  in  roaring, 
and  the  value  of  air  in  pair  and  in  pairing. 

6.  Determine  the  vowel  sounds  corresponding  to 
the  italicized   letters   in    child,   children;    woman, 
women ;  read  (infinitive),  raid  (past  participle) ;  say, 
says;   drann,   dreamed;  leap,  leaped;   hear,  heard; 
can,  can't ;  do,  don't ;  gentleman,  gentlemen. 

7.  Write  in  transcript  the  words  italicized : 

a.  I  have  learned  much  from  this  learned  man. 

b.  He  has  aged  a  good  deal.     He  is  aged. 

c.  I  used  to  use  it ;  you  used  it  too. 

Try  to  account  for  the  pronunciation  of  used  in  the 
sense  of  "  was  accustomed  "  (see  §  49). 

8.  Transcribe   your   pronunciation  of    halfpenny, 

08 


94        The  Sounds  of  Spoken  English 

twopence,  threepence.  Show  the  difference  between  the 
English  and  the  French  pronunciation  of  franc,  and 
between  the  English  and  the  German  pronunciation 
of  mark. 

9.  A  waiter  was  heard  to  remark  pathetically  that 
he  never  could  tell  whether  a  customer  wanted  "  cold 
lamb"  or  "cold  ham."    What  caused  his  uncertainty"? 

10.  The  pronunciation  of  the  children  of  Walworth 
attending  the  Church  schools  has  given  much  con- 
cern to  Canon  Horsley,  who  says  that  in  their  speech 
"I've  been  to  take  her  home"  becomes  "binter  tiker 
rome,"  "Oh,  shake  hands"  becomes  "ow  shy  cans," 
and  "I've  been  having  a  game"  becomes  "binnavina- 
gime."    Consider  the  pronunciation  suggested  by  this 
rough  transcription,  transcribe  it  more  carefully,  and 
comment  on  such  features  of  the  Walworth  dialect 
as  it  illustrates. 

11.  You   are  familiar  with   the   term    "allitera- 
tion," and  know  that  it  is  a  favourite  device  of  cheap 
journalism.    Criticise  the  alliteration  in  the  following 
scare-lines:     CITY    CLEEK    CHASED.      THIEF 
TAKEN.     SOLICITOE  SHOT. 

12.  Mention  words  in  which  the  following  letters 
are  written  but  not  sounded :  b,  g,  gh,  k,  I,  m,  n,  t,  w. 

13.  Comment  on  the  following  statement:  "The 
letters  I  and  r  are  called  trills,  because  there  is  a 
vibration  in  the  sounds,  or  in  some  part  of  the  vocal 
apparatus  by  which  we  pronounce  them." 

14.  Consider  this  statement :  "The  ai  in  fair,  ea  in 
lead,  ie  in  field,  ei  in  receive,  are  none  of  them  true 
diphthongs;  they  are  more  or  less  clumsy  ways  of 
showing  the  length  of  an  elementary  vowel-sound." 


Exercises  95 

15.  "  English  has  two  e  sounds,  as  in  fed,  feed,  and 
four  u  sounds,  as  in  but,  pull,  fur,  fool."     Do  you 
agree  with  this? 

16.  Why  does  crystal  look  nicer  than  kristle,  which 
represents   the   same  sounds?     Account   for   such 
spellings  as  Edythe,  Smythe,  Whyte. 

17.  Say  quickly  but  distinctly  : 

She  sells  sea-shells  in  a  salt-fish  shop. 

Is  Stephen  Smith's  son  a  smith  too? 

How  many  houses  had  Harry  Hall  ? 

Long  and  loudly  little  Lily  laughed. 

The  skilled  dentist  extracted  the  three  teeth. 

Do  you  want  the  thick  thread  or  the  thin  ? 

In  silence  he  sat  on  the  sands  by  the  silvery  sea. 

A  boat  is  floating  over  the  ocean. 

With  a  loud  shout  he  came  out  of  the  house. 

The  first  question  Charles  asked  was  strange. 

Three  grey  geese  in  the  green  grass  grazing. 

18.  Discuss   the   old-fashioned  form    of    address 
"mine  host."     Do  you  say  "an  historical  novel"? 
"a  (or  an)  hotel  at  Folkestone"?     How  do  you 
pronounce  "the  Grand   Hotel"?    Transcribe  your 
pronunciation  of  "I  gave  her  her  hat." 

19.  What  is  the  derivation  of  ventriloquist 1    Does 
the  term  correctly  indicate  the  way  in  which  ventri- 
loquists produce  their  sounds?     Which  sounds  do 
you  think  most  likely  to  give  them  difficulty  ? 

20.  In  the  French  of  the  12th  century  /  under 
certain   circumstances  became  a  vowel;    thus  altre 
became  autre  and  chevals  became  chevaus.     How  do 
you  explain  this  change  ?    Point  to  a  similar  change 
in  English. 


96        The  Sounds  of  Spoken  English 

21.  How  would  you  teach  a  foreigner  to  pronounce 
the  English  th  sounds? 

22.  Little  children  say  pease  for  please,  gamma  or 
gran-ma  for  grandma,  dess  for  dress,  locking  for  stocking. 
Illustrate  the  tendency  shown  in  these  examples  from 
the  speech  of  grown-up  people. 

23.  Comment  on  the  little  child's  pronunciation  of 
tsain  for  chain,  fee  for  three,  noder  for  another,  and 
bafyoom  for  bathroom. 

24.  Consider  carefully   the    question,    why    the 
pronunciation  of  a  foreign  language  presents  diffi- 
culties; draw  on  any  foreign  language  you  know 
for  illustrations. 

25.  The  Latin  camera  is  our  chamber,  numerus  our 
number,  Latin  humtiis  our  humble,  Latin  similare  our 
(re)semble.     Account  for  the  b  in  the  English  words. 

26.  Consider  the  value  of  ure  in  sure,  pure,  nature, 
figure. 

27.  What  light  is  thrown  on  the  pronunciation  of 
the  past  by  the  following  quotations : 

(a)  While  he,  withdrawn,  at  their  mad  labour  smiles, 
And  safe  enjoys  the  Sabbath  of  his  toils.     (Dryden.) 

(b)  Dreading  even  fools,  by  flatterers  besieg'd, 
And  so  obliging  that  he  ne'er  oblig'd.     (Pope.) 

(c)  Contemplate  is  bad  enough,  but  bdlcony  makes  me  sick. 
(Rogers. ) 

(d)  The  dame,  of  manner  various,  temper  fickle, 

Now  all  for  pleasure,  now  the  conventicle.     (Colman.) 
(«)  There  is  little  doubt  that  in  the  pronunciation  of  successor 
the  antepenultimate  accent  will  prevail.     (Walker.) 

(_/)  To    ketch   [catch]  him  at  a   vantage    in    his  snares. 
(Spenser. ) 

(g)  Yet  he  was  kind,  or,  if  severe  in  aught, 

The  love  he  bore  to  learning  was  in  fault.     (Goldsmith.) 


Exercises  97 

28.  Determine  which  sounds  are  represented  by 
ea  in  the  following  words  :  bear,  beard,  bread,  bead,  yea, 
create,  realm,  leap,  leapt,  hearken;  and  by  eo  in  the 
following  words  :  yeoman,  people,  leopard,  re-open. 

29.  Determine  which  sounds  are  represented  by 
oi  in  the  following  words :  boil,  heroic,  choir,  tortoise, 
turquoise,  coincide  ;  and  by  ou  in  the  following  words  : 
south,  southern,  mourn,  journal,  though,  thought,  uncouth. 

30.  Determine  which  sounds  are  represented  by  g 
in  the  following  words :  gem,  goal,  gaol,  gill,  gibberish, 
fatigue,  gnaw ;  and  by  ough  in  the  following  words 
trough,  through,  thorough,  sough,  cough,  rough,  plough, 
lough. 

31.  A  character  in  one  of  Miss  Braddon's  novels 
says  :    "  Supernumery — it's  no   use,   I   don't    think 
anybody  ever  did  know  how  many  syllables  there 
are  in  that  word."     What  is  it  that  leads  to  the 
shortening  of    this   word    in    uneducated   speech  ? 
Mention  similar  cases  of  shortening. 

APPENDIX  II 
Lists  of  Words  with  Phonetic  Transcription. 

NOTE. 

The  accent  shows  that  the  following  syllable  has  the  chief 
stress. 

As  these  lists  are  intended  for  the  use  of  English 
students,  it  has  been  thought  sufficient  to  let  [e] 
represent  the  first  vowel  sound  and  [i]  the  second 
vowel  sound  in  very. 

The  variation  in  length  of  [ij]  and  other  diph- 
thongs and  of  [m,  n,  1],  etc.,  has  not  been  indicated. 
G 


98        The  Sounds  of  Spoken  English 

Words  which  have  occurred  in  the  text  of  the 
book  are  not  repeated  here. 

When  two  pronunciations  are  given,  both  may  be 
considered  as  common ;  the  first  is  generally  to  be 
preferred.  If,  however,  a  pronunciation  is  enclosed 
in  brackets,  it  is  to  be  regarded  as  faulty. 


A.  General 


abdomen,  aeb'douman 

('sebdomen) 

ab  initio,  'seb  i'nijiou,  -jou 
abscission,  aeb'si59n 
acacia,  a'keija 
accent    (subst.),   'aeksent, 

'aeksent;  (verb)  aek'sent 
acclimatize,  'aeklimotaiz, 

e'klaimetaiz 
accolade,  'aekoleid 
accoutre,  o'kuwte 
acetic,  9'sijtik,  -se- 
acoustics,  9'kaustiks 

(e'kuwstiks) 
acrobat,  'sekrobaet 
adage,  'aedids 
adept,  'sedept,  9'dept 
adieu,  9'djuw 
ad  infinitum,  'aed  infi'nait- 

9m 

admirable,  'aedmirebl 
admiration,  aedmi'reijgn 
ad  nauseam,  'sed  'nojsiaam, 

-jsam 

ado,  9'duw 
adult,  'asdAlt,  9'dAlt 
ad  valorem,  aed  vg'loirem 


advantageous,      aedvgn- 


advertisement, 

mgnt 
aegis, 

aegrotat,  i'groutaet 
aerated,  'e:9reitid 
aerial,  e'erigl, 
aerie,  'siri,  'iigri 
aeronaut,  'e:rono:t 
aesthetics,  ij's#etiks 

(e's^etiks) 

a  fortiori,  'ei  fo:'$jo:rai 
again,  9'gen,  9'gein 
against,  9'genst,  g'geinst 
aged  (adj.),  'eidsid 
aggrandizement,    9'graen- 

dizmgnt 
aghast,  g'gaist 
agile,  'aedsail 
ague,  'eigjuw 
aisle,  'ail 
albeit,  'oilbijit 
algebra, 
alibi,  'aelibai 
alienate,  'eiljgneit 
allegiance,  9'lijd39ns 


Wordlist : 


abdo-biz 


allegro,  a'legrou,  -leig- 
allot,  9'lot 
alloy,  a'loi 
ally,  alai 

almanac,  'oilmansek 
also,  'oflsou,  'olsou 
always,  'o:lwiz,  -waz,  -weiz 
amateur,  'semata:,    'aema- 
amenity,  a'meniti      [t$ua 
among,  a'mAT)  (a'mor)) 
anaemic,  a'nijmik 
anarchist,  'senakist 
anarchy,  'aenaki,  'aenaiki 
anchovy,  aen'tjouvi 
anemone,  o'nemani 
angina,  sen'dsaina 
anglice,  'aerjglisi 
ant,  'aent  ('a:nt) 
antipodes,  ffin'tipodijz 
antique,  sen'tijk 
antithesis,  aen'ti^isia 
aorist,  'eiorist 
aperture,  'aspa'tja 
aphasia,  a'feizja 
apophthegm,  'aepoflem 
apotheosis,      sepo^i'ousis, 
apparatus,  sepa'reitas  [apo- 
apparent,  a'peirant,  -paar- 
a  priori,  'ei  pri'o:rai 
apropos,  'sepropou 
arch-,  usually  a:tj 
archangel,  'aikeindsal 
archetype,  'aikitaip 
archi-,  'aiki-,  'a:kj- 
archives,  'aikaivz 
arid,  'sand 
arras,  'aaras 


artificer,  ai'tifiso 
artiste,  'aitijst,  -ist 
asafoatida,  'aesa'fetide 
askance,  a'skaens,  -a:ns 
aspirant,  e'spairant 
assignee,  sesi'nij 
atoll,  'astol,  a'tol 
attorney,  a'taini 
avalanche,  'aevalamj 
awkward,  'o:kwad 
awry,  a'rai 
ayah,  'aja 
aye  (always),  'ei 
aye  (yes),  'ai 
baboo,  'ba:buw 
bacillus,  ba'silas 
bagatelle,  'bsegatel 
bakshish,  'baek^JJ 
balcony,  'baelkani 
ballet,  'bselei 
balsam,  'boilsam 
basalt,  'baasolt,  ba'soilt 
bass  (voice),  'beis 
because,  biTcoiz,  bi'koz 
bedizen,  bi'daizan 
begone,  bi'gon 
belligerent,  be'lidsarant 
betroth,  bi'trouS 
bicycle,     'baisikl     ('bai- 

'saikl) 

bigot,  'bigat 
bijou,  'bijsuw 
billet-doux,  'bilei'duw 
bison,  'baisan 
bitumen,    TDitjuman, 

bi'tjuwman 
bizarre,  bi'za: 

go 


ioo      The  Sounds  of  Spoken  English 


blancmange,  ble'mon(d)3 
blithe,  'blaiS 
blouse,  T)lauz  (Taluwz) 
boatswain,  'bousen 
bodega,  bo'dijga 
bombast,   'bombaest, 

'bombast 

bona  fide,  'boun9  'faidi 
booth,  'buwS 
borough,  T)AT9  ('bArou) 
bouquet,  bu'kei 
bourn,  'bom,  'buian 
bravado,    bra'veidou, 

bra'vaidou 

brazier,  'breisa,  'breizja 
breeches,  'britjiz,  'brij- 
brougham,  Tmisam, 

'brouam  Cbroum) 
brusque,  'brusk,  'brAsk 
buffet,  'bufei 
bulwark,  'bulwak 
bureau,  'bjuirou,  bju'rou 
burgher,  't>9ig9 

cabal,  ko'bael 
cachet,  'kaejei 
cadi,  'keidi 
caesura,  si'zjuire 
cambric,  'keimbrik 
campanile,  ksempe'nijli 
canon,  'kaenjen 
cantata,  kaen'tajto 
cantonment,    kaen'tuwn- 

mont,  -'ton- 
caoutchouc,  'kautjuk 
cap-a-pie,  'kaepapij 
capitalist,  'kaepitolist 


caprice,  ke'prijs 
capuchin,  'kaepjutjin 
carouse,  ke'rauz 
cashier,  ke'Jiio 
casino,  ka'sijnou 
cathedra,    'kfflflidro    (kg' 


cauliflower,  'koliflaus 
celibate,  'selibot 
'cello,  'tjelou 
centenary,      'sentenri, 

sen'tenori 

cere  (-cloths,  -ments),  'siio- 
chagrin,  Ja'grijn,  Je'grin 
chalybeate,  kae'libjet 
chamois  (leather),  'Jaemi 
chaperon,  'Jaeporoun 
charade,  Je'rard,  Ja'reid 
charivari,  'Jaerij'vairij 
charlatan,  'Jailoton,  -asn 
chastisement,  'tjaestizmgnt 
chauffeur,  'Joufa 
chaunt,  'tjamt 
chauvinist,  'Jouvinist 
chic,  'Jik 

chimera,  kai'migra,  M- 
chiro-,  'kairo- 
chivalric,  Ji'vaelrik  1  also 
chivalrous,  'Jivalras  J-with 
chivalry,  'Jivalri      Jtji- 
choir,  'kwaia 
choleric,  'kolarik 
chough,  'tjAf 
cicala,  si'kaila 
cicerone,  sisa'rouni 
cinque,  'sipk 
circuit,  'saskit 


Wordlist : 


blanc-debau 


circumstance,  'saikamstans 
clandestine,  klsen'destin 
clematis,    'klemetis,   (kli- 

'meitis) 
clique,  'klijk 
coalesce,  koua'les 
cobalt,  'koubolt 
cochineal,  'kotjinijl 
cognisant,  Tcognisant 
coign(e),  'koin 
coincide,  kouin'said 
colonel,  'kainal 
combat,  combatant,  com- 

bative  have   'kAm-  or 

'kom- 

comely,  'kAmli 
commentary,  'komantri 
comparable,  'komprabal 
comrade,  'kAmrid,  'komrid 
conch,  'korjk 
condign,  kan'dain 
condolence,  kan'doulans 
conger,  'korjge 
congeries,       kon'dseriijz, 

-'dsij- 
conjure  (sleight  of  hand), 

'kAndsQ 
conjure    (implore),   kon  - 


connoisseur,    koni'sai, 

koni'sjuia 

consignee,  konsi'nij 
Consols,  ken'solz 
constable,  'kAnstobl/  kon- 

stabl 
construe,  'konstruw,  kan- 

'struw 


contagion, 

contemplate,  'kontempleit 

(kan'templeit) 
contemplative,     kon'tem- 

plativ 
contents,  'kontents,  kan'- 

tents 

contumacy,  'kontjumasi 
contumely,  kan'tjuwmili 
conversazione,  konvasaet- 

si'ouni 

corollary,   ka'roleri,  'kor- 
corps,  'koi  [elari 

coterie,  'koutarij 
cotillon,  ko'tiljan 
counterfeit,  'kauntafit 
courteous,  'koitjas/kaitjas 

('kaitjes) 
courtesy,  'kaitasi 
courtier,  'koitja 
covetous,  'kAvitas 
covey,  'kAvi 
coxswain,  'koksan 
cozen,  'kAzan 
crayon,  'krejan 
croup,  'kruwp 
cui  bono,  'kai  loounou 
cuirass,  kwi'rses,  kju- 
cuisine,  kwi'zijn 
cuneiform,  Tcjuwniifoim 
cupola,  Tijuwpola 
cynosure,       'sainosjua, 

'sainojua,  'sino- 

dais,  'deis 

dandelion,  'daendilaion 

debauch,  di'boitj 

101 


102      The  Sounds  of  Spoken  English 


debonair,  'debaneia 
debris,  'debri 
decade,  'dekad,  'dekeid 
decadence,  'dekedans 
decease,  di'sijs 
decorous,      'dekares,    di- 

'koiras 

dei  gratia,  dijai  'greijiei 
demesne,  di'mein 
demise,  di'maiz 
demonstrate,  'demanstreit 
demy  (paper),  di'mai 
depot,  'depou  ('dijpou) 
derelict,  'deralikt 
desiderate,  di'sidareit 
design,  di'zain 
designate,      'dezigneit, 

'des- 

desist,  di'zist 
desuetude,  'deswitjuwd 
diaeresis,  dai'i:arasis 
diapason,  daia'peizan 
didactic,  di'daektik 
dilatory,  'dilat(a)ri 
dilettante,  dili'teenti 
diocese,  'daiosis 
dis-  (before  voiced  sounds), 

diz-;    (before  voiceless 

sounds),  dis- 
dishabille,  'disabijl 
disputant,  'dispjutont 
distich,  'distik 
divan,  di'vasn  ('daivan) 
divers,  'daivais 
diverse,  di'vais 
divisible,  di'vizibl 
docile,  'dousail,  'dosail 


doctrinal,  'doktrinal,  dok- 

'trainal 
doge,  'douds 
dolorous,  ' 
domicile,  'domisail 
douche,  'duj,  'duwj 
doughty,  'dauti 
dramatis    personae,    ' 

rnoti*  pei'sounij 
draught,  'dra:ft 
drollery,  droubri 
dromedary,  ' 
drought,  'draut  (droit) 
dubiety,  djuw'baieti 
ducat,  'dAkat 
ductile,  'dAktail 
duteous,      'djuwtjss 

('djuwtjas) 

dynasty,  'dinasti,  'dainasti 
dysentery,  'disantri 

eau   de   Cologne,   'ou   di 

ka'loun 

eohelon,  'ejalon 
eclat,  'ekla:,  e'kla: 
e'en,  'ijn 
e'er,  'e\9 
effete,  e'fijt 
eglantine,  'eglantain 
either,  'ai?5a,  'ijSa 
elicit,  i'lisit 
elite,  e'lijt 
elixir,  i'liksa 
emaciated,  i'meijieitid 
embrasure,  em'breise 
enervate,  'enaiveit 
enunciate, 


Wordlist: 


debon-ghoul 


envelope,  'onveloup,  'en- 

veloup 

environs,  en'vaireoz 
epaulet,  'epolet 
epitome,  i'pitomi 
epoch,  'ijpok  ('epok) 
equerry,  'ekwari,  e'kweri 
erase,  i'reis 
erasure,  i'reis9 
ere,  'e:9 

escheat,  es'tjijt 
eschew,  es'tjuw 
esoteric,  eso'terik 
espionage,  'espionids 
evasive,  i'veisiv 
exchequer,  eks't$ek9 
excise,  'eksaiz,  ek'saiz 
excuse  (verb),  eks'kjuwz, 

(subst.)  eks'kjuws 
expert,  'eksp9it 
expletive,  ek'splijtiv 
exquisite,  'ekskwizit 
extant,  ek'staent,  'ekstant 
extempore,  ek'stemperi 
extirpate,  'ekstoipeit 
extraordinary,      ek'stro:- 

dnari,  'ekstre'oidinari 
exude,  eg'zjuwd,  -ks- 
eyot,  'aiet 

facade,  f9'sa:d,  fg'seid 
facile,  'fsesil 
facsimile,  fsek'simili 
fakir,  fg'kii9,  'feiki9 
falchion,  'foiljgn 
fanatic,  fo'ncetik 
farinaceous,  faeri'nei$as 


fealty,  'fijglti 
fecund,  'fijkAnd,  'fe- 
feod,  'fjuwd 
feoff,  'fef 
fetish,  'fijtij,  'fe- 
finance,  fi'nsens 
financier,  fi'naenj9,  -sJ9 
finesse,  fi'nes 
fissure,  'fij9 
flaccid,  'flseksid 
flamboyant,  flaem'boJ9nt 
fluor,  'flui9 
foetid,  'fetid 
forfeit,  'foifit 
fragile,  'frsedsail 
franchise,  'frsen(t)$aiz,  -Jiz 
frigate,  'frig9t 
frontier,  'frontii9,  'frAn- 
fuchsia,  'fjuwjg 
fugue,  'f juwg 
furlough,  'fgilou 
furore,  f ju'roiri 
futile,  'fjuwtail 

gala,  'geil9 

gallant  (polite),  gglaent 
gambol,  'gaembl 
gaol,  'dseil 
garish,  'geirij 
gaseous,  gsesjgs,  geisjgs 
gauche,  'gouj 
gauge,  'geids 
generic,  dse'nerik 
gesture,  d5est$9 
gewgaw,  'gjuwgoi 
geyser,  'gaisg,  'geis9 
ghoul,  'guwl 

103 


104      The  Sounds  of  Spoken  English 


gibberish,  'gibarij 
gibbet,  'dsibit 
gibbous,  'gibas 

gig.  'gig   , 

gigantic,  ds 

gill    (of    fish),    'gil;     (of 

liquid),  'dsil 
gillyflower,  'dsiliflaua 
gimlet,  'gimlit 

gimP>  'gimP 

gist,  'dsist 

gizzard,  'gizad 

glacial,  'gleijal 

glacier,  'gleija,  'glaesja,  -ia 

gladiolus,      gla'daialas, 

glaedi'oulas 
glamour,  'glaema 
goitre,  'goita 
gondola,    'gondola    (gon- 


gosling,  'gozlip 
gouge,  'guwds,  'gauds 
gourd,  'gu:od,'go:d  [gre— 
gravamen,      grae'veimen, 
greasy,  'grijzi,  'grijsi 
groat,  'grout  ('groit) 
gross,  'grous 
guerdon,  'goidon 
guillotine,  'gilotijn 
gunwale,  'gAnol 
gutta-percha,  ' 
gyves, 


halberd,  'haelbad 
halcyon,  'haelsjon 
hautboy,  'houboi 
heifer,  'hefa 


heigho,  lieihou 
heinous,  'heinos 
hemorrhage,  'hemorids 
heroine,  'heroin 
heroism,  'heroizm 
heterogeneous,       hetero- 


hiatus,  hai'eitos 
hierarch,  'haiarask 
hirsute,  hei'sjuwt 
hosier,  'housa,  'houzja 
housewife      (case      for 

needles,  etc.),  'hAzif 
hussar,  hu'zaj,  hA'za: 
hussy,  ' 
hygiene,  ' 
hygienic,         haidsi'enik, 

hidsi'ijnik 

hymeneal,  haimi'niial 
hyperbole,  hai'paiboli 
hypochondriacal,  haipo- 

kon'draiakl,  hipo- 
hypotenuse,  hai'potanjuws 
hyssop,  'hisap 

identical,  ai'dentikl 
idiosyncrasy,  idio'sipkrasi 
idyll,  'aidil 
illustrative,       'ilastreitiv, 

i'lAstrativ 
imbecile,  'imbisijl,  -il 
imbroglio,  im'brouljou 
impious,  'impias 
indecorous,  in'dekaras 
indict,  in'dait 
indissoluble,  indi'soljubl 
inexorable,in'egzarabl,-eks- 


Wordlist  : 

interesting,  'intrastirj 
interlocutor,  in'ta:lokjuwta 
interstice,in't9  :  stis,  'intastis 
intestine,  in'testin 
inundate,  'inAndeit 
inveigh,  in'vei 
inveigle,  in'vijgl 
inventory,  'invantri 
investiture,  in'vestitja 
irascible,  i'rsesibl 
irrefragable,  i'refragabl 
irrefutable,  i'refjutabl 
irreparable,  i'reparabl 
irrevocable,  i'revakabl 
isolate,  'aisoleit 
italics,  i'taeliks  (ai'tseliks) 
itinerary,  i'tinarari 


eune 
jeopardy,  ' 
jocose,  dso'kous 
jocund,  ' 
j(o)ust, 


kopje,  Tcopi 

laboratory,     laebratri, 

la'boratri 

lamentable,  'laemantabl 
landau,  'Isendo: 
lapel,  la'pel 
lath,  'la:0 
laudanum,  'lodnam 
laurel,  'loral 
legend,  'ledsand  ('lijdsan 
legislature,  'ledsislatja 
leisure,  'lesa  ('lijsa) 
leopard,  'lepad 


gibber-mauso 

lev^e,  'levi 

libertine,'libatain,-tijn,-tin 

lichen,  'laikan,  'litjan 

lien,  laian,  liian,  lijn 

lieu,  'luw 

lieutenant,  lef'tenant,  lif- 

lineament,  linjamant 

liqueur,  li'ka:,  li'kjuia 

liquor,  'lika 

liquorice,  'likaris 

litre,  'lijta 

livelong,  'laivlorj,  'livlorj 

loath,  'lou^ 

loathe,  'Iou5 

loathsome,  'loutfsam,  -5- 

longevity,  lon'dseviti 

longitude,  'londsitjuwd 

lough,  'lok 

lowering  (looking  sullen), 

'lauarirj 

ludicrous,  'luwdikras 
lugubrious,  lu'guwbrias 
luxurious,  la'gzuirias 
luxury,  lAkJari 
machination,  maeki'neijan 
magi,  'meidsai 
mahlstick,  'moilstik 
malinger,  ma'lirjger 
manoeuvre,  ma'nuwve 
manse,  'maens 
margarine,  'maidsarijn 
marigold,  'maerigould 
marquee,  mai'kij 
marquis,  'maikwis 
masquerade,  maeska'reid 
massage,  'msesais 
mausoleum,  mo:so'Ji;om 

105 


106      The  Sounds  of  Spoken  English 


medicament,  'medikamant, 

me'dikemant 
mediocre,  'mijdiouka 
mediocrity,  mijdi'okriti 
meerschaum,  'miiajam 
melancholy,  'melagkali 
memoir,  'memwa: 
menagerie,  mi'nasdsari 
menu,  'menju,  ma'nuw 
Messrs,  'mesoz 
metallurgy, 


metamorphosis,      meta- 

'moifosis 

metathesis,  mi'tietfosis 
metre,  'mijta 
mezzotint,  'metsotint 
miasma,  mai'aBzma,  mi- 
millenary,  mi'lenari 
minatory,  'mainatari 
miniature,  'miniatja,  -tJ9 
minute  (adj.),  mai'njuwt, 

mi- 

mirage,  mi'rais 
misanthrope,  'misanflroup 
miscellany,  mi'selani 
mischief,  'mistjif 
morose,  ma'rous 


myth,  ' 
mythology, 


naive,  'neiv 
naivet^,  'neivtei 
nauseate,  'no;$jeit 
nauseous,  'uoijjas,  'noises 
ne'er,  'ne:9 
neither,  ' 


nicety,  'nais(9)ti 
niche,  'nitj 
nomenclature,       no'men- 


noose,  'nuwz,  'nuws 
norse,  'no:s 
nuncio, 
nuptial,  ' 

oasis,  ou'eisis 
obeisance,  o'beisgns 
obese,  o'bijs 
obligatory,         'obligotri, 

oTaliggtri,  obli'geitori 
obloquy,  'obkkwi 
obsequies,  'obsikwiz 
obtuse,  ob'tjuws 
occult,  o'kAlt 
octopus,      'oktgpos,      ok- 

'tOUp9S 

oligarchy,  'oligaiki 
omniscient,  om'nijgnt,  -si- 
onerous, 


onomatopeia, 
operative,        'oparativ, 

'opareitiv 

orchestral,  oi'kestral,  'o:ki 
ordeal,  oi'diial 
organization,        oigani- 

'zeijan,  -nai- 
orison,  'orizan,  -s- 
ormolu,  'oimaluw 
ornate,  a'neit 
osier,  'ouse 
oust,  'aust 

pageant,      'peidsant, 


Wordlist : 

palaver,  pa'laiva 
palfrey,  'po:lfri  ('paelfri) 
panacea,  psena'siia 
panegyric,  pseni'dsirik 
pan(n)ier,  'psenje 
papyrus,  pa'pairas 
paradigm,  'pseradaim 
paraffine,  'paerafin 
pariah,  'peirja 
parochial,  pa'roukjal 
parvenu,  'paivanju 
pastel,  pse'stel,  'psestal 
pastille,  pae'stijl,  'psestil 
patent,  'peitant  ('psetant) 
pathos,  'peifos 
patois,  'paetwai 
patrimony,  'psetrimoni 
patron,  'peitren 
patronage,       'psetranids, 

'peitranids 
patronize,         'psetranaiz, 

'peitranaiz 
peccavi,  pe'keivai 
pedagogue,  'pedagog 
pedagogy,  'pedagodsi,  -gi 
perquisite,  'paikwizit 
petard,  pi'taid 
phaeton,  'feitan 
phalanx,      'feilseT)ks, 

'fselse^ks 

phlegmatic,  fleg'msetik 
piazza,  pi'setsa 
piquant,  'pijkant 
pique,  'pijk 

piteous,  'pitj  as  ('pitjes) 
placard,  'plaekosd 
plaid,  'plajd,  'pleid 


medic-puiss 

plait,  'plaet 
plebiscite,  'plebisait 
plenary,  'plijnari 
plenteous,     'plentjas 

('plenties) 
plethora,  'pleflera 
plethoric,  'ple^arik 
plover,  'plAve 
poignant,  'poinjant 
poignard,  'ponjed 
pomade,  po'meid,  po'maid 
pommel,  'pAmal 
pongee,  'pondsi 
porpoise,  'po:pas 
posthumous,  'postjumas 
potsherd,  'potfaid 
precedence,  pri'sijdans 
precedent,  'president 
predatory,  'predatri 
prelate,  'prelat 
prelude,  'preljuwd 
premature,      'prematjua, 

'prijmatjua 

premier,  'prijmja  ('premja) 
premise  Tsubst.),  'premis 
premise  (verb),  pri'maiz 
presage,  'presids 
prescience,  'prejans,  -ei- 
prestige,  pre'stijs 
primer,  'prima,  'praima 
pristine,  'pristain,  'pristin 
privacy,  'praivasi,  'privasi 
profligacy,  'profligasi 
prophecy,  'profiisi 
prophesy,  'profisai 
puisne,  'pjuwni 
puissant,  'pwijsent 
107 


The  Sounds  of  Spoken  English 


pumice,  'pAmis 
purloin,  pai'loin 
purport,  'pa:  pat 

quagmire,  Tiwaegmaia 
quandary,  'kwondari,-'d  e:ri 
quarantine,  'kworantijn 
quay,  'kij 
queue,  'kjuw 
quiescent,  kwai'esant 
quinine,  kwi'nijn 
quoif,  'koif 
quoit,  'koit 
quoth,  'kwoufl 

ragged,  'rsegid 
ranch(e),  'ra:n(t)J 
rancour,  'raegka 
rapier,  'reipiia 
rapine,  'rsepin,  'rsepain 
rase,  'reiz 

rations  (army),  'rsejnz 
recluse,  riTduws 
recondite,  'rekandait 
reconnaissance,      ri'kona- 

sons 

reconnoitre,  reka'noita 
redolent,  'redalant 
regicide,  'redsisaid 
regime,  re'sijm 
reindeer,  'reindio 
remonstrate,  ri'monstreit 
renaissance,  ri'neisans 
rendezvous,  'rondivuw 
repertoire,  'repaitwa: 
replica,  'replika 
requiem,  'rekwiam 


reredos,  rirados 
reservoir,  'rezavwa: 
resin,  'rezon,  'rozon 
resonance,  'rezanans 
respite,  'respit 
restaurant,  'restoroij 
reveille,  ri'vseli 
reverie,  'revari 
rhetoric,  'retarik 
rheum,  'ruwm 
rhythm,  'riSm 
rhythmical,  'ri^mikal 
ribald,  'ribald,  'riboild 
rouge,  'ruw5 
routine,  ru'tijn 
rowlock,  ' 
ruse,  'ruwz 


sachet,  'ssejei 
saga,  'saiga 
salient,  'seiljant 
saline  (substA  sa'lain 
saline  (adj.),  seilain 
sample,  'saimpl,  'ssempl 
sarcophagus,  saiTcofagas 
satiety,  sa'taiati 
satire,  'ssetaia 
satyr,  'saeta 
scallop,  'skolap 
scathe,  'skeiS 
scenic,  'sijnik 
sceptic,  'skeptik 
schedule,  'Jedjul  ('skedjul) 
schism,  'sizm 
scimitar,  'simita 
scintillate,  'sintileit 


Wordlist : 


pumi-tourn 


scion,  'saian 
scone,  'skoun  ('skon) 
scourge,  'skaids 
sedative,  'sedativ 
sedentary,  'sedantri 
seigneury,  'sijnjari 
semi-,  semi 
senile,  'sijnail 
seraglio,  si'rcnljou 
serviette,  'saivjet 
sheikh,  'jijk 
shortlived,  'Joitlivd 
siesta,  si'esta 
signer,  'sijnjoi 
simile,  'simili 
sinecure,  'sainikjua 
skein,  'skein 
ski,  'skij  ('Jij) 
sleight,  'slait 
sloth,  'slou0 
slough,  'slau  ('slAf) 
sloven,  'slAvan 
sluice,  'sluws 
sobriquet,  'soubrikei 


soourn, 

solace,  'solas 

solecism,  'soulisizm,  'sol 

soliloquy,  sa'lilakwi,  so- 

sonorous,  'sonaras,  sa'tio:r»s 

sough,  'sAf 

souse,  'saus 


southerly,  's 
specie,  'spijji 
species,  'spijjijz 
stalwart,  'stolwat 
stevedore,  'stijvadoi 
stoep,  'stuwp 


strategic, 

strychnine,     'striknijn, 

'striknin 
suave,  'sweiv 
suavity,  'swseviti 
subaltern,  'sAbaltam 
subsidence,  'sAbsidns 
succinct,  SAk'sipkt 
suflfragan,  'sAfragan 
suite,  'swijt 
surfeit,  'sa:fit 
surveillance,  se'veilans 
swarthy,  'swo:5i,  -6i 
sybarite,  'sibarait 
synagogue,  'sinagog 
syncope,  'sipkapi 

technique,  tek'nijk 
telegraphy,  'teligrafi,  ti'le- 

grafi 

tenable,  'tijnabl,  'tenabl 
tenet,  'tijnit,  'tenit 
tepid,  'tepid 
termagant,  'teimagant 
thorough,  '^Ara,  'c'Arou 
thraldom,  '0ro:ldoui 
thresh,  '^raej 
thyme,  'taim 
tinsel,  'tinsal 
tirade,  ti'reid 
tissue,  'tiju 
tonsure,  ' 
tontine,  'tontiin 
toothed,  'tuw&t 
tornado,  to:'na:dou 
tortoise,  'toitas  ('to:toiz) 
tournament,  'tuianamant 
IOQ 


no     The  Sounds  of  Spoken  English 


toward,  to:d,  tu'woid 
trait,  'trei 

transient,  'trsenzjant 
transition,  traen'sisan 
treatise,  'trijtis 
tribunal,  trai'bjuwnal,  tri- 
tribune,  'tribjun 
trilogy,  'triladsi 
trio,  'trijou 
tripartite,  'tripaitait 
triptych,  'triptik 
trophy,  'troufi 
troth,  'troufl,  'tro0 
trough,  'trof 
trow,  'trou 
tryst,  'trist,  'traist 
turbine,  'to:bain 
turquoise,      'taikoiz, 

'taikwoiz 

tyrannic,  tai'rsenik,  ti- 
tyranny,  'tironi 
tyrant,  'tairant 
tyro,  'tairou 


ubiquity,  ju'bikwiti 
ukase,  ju'keis 
uncouth,  An'kuw0 
undulatory,  'Andjulatri 
unison,  'juwnisan 
untoward/Antuwo:d,-to:d 
upholster,  Ap'houlste 
usurp,  ju'zoip 

vagary,  ve'gsiri 
valet,  Vaelit 
valiant,  'vaeljant 
valise,  vo'lijz,  va'lijs 


vase,  'va:z  ('voiz) 
vehement,  'vijimant 
vehicle,  'vijikl 
vermicelli,  vo:mi'seli 
vertigo,  'veitigou 
vice-gerent,  'vai 
vice  versa,  'vaisi'veise 
vignette,  vi'njet 
vilify,  'vilifai 
virago,  vi'reigou 
viscount,  'vaikaunt 
visor,  'viza 

viva  voce,  'vaiva'vousi 
vouchsafe,  'vaut$'seif 

wainscot,  'weinsket 
walrus,  'wolros 
wassail,  'wsesti 
weir,  'wi:9 

wharfinger,  'woifindsg 
wind,      'wind      (poetry : 

'wind,  Vaind) 
windlass,  'windlas 
wiseacre,  'waizeika 
worsted  (wool),  'wustid 
worsted  (defeated),  'w9i- 

stid 

wrath,  'ro:^ 
wroth,  'rou# 

yea,  'jei 
yeoman,  'joumgn 

zealot,  'zel9t 
zealous,  'zelas 
zenith,  'zeni#, 
zoology, 


Wordlist ; 


toward- Beth 


B.  Proper  Names. 


Aberga  ven  n  y  ,  'aebaga'  veni 
Abinger,  'aebindsa 
Aeneas,  ij'nijaes 
Aeneid,  'ijniid 
Aeschylus,  'ijskilas 
Aetna,  'etna 
Afghan,  'aefgaen 
Aflalo,  a'flailou 
Ailsa,  'eilza 
Aix-la-Chapelle,   'elks    la 

Ja'pel 

Albany,  'o:lbani 
Alcester,  'oilsta 
Alma-Tadema,  'aelma 

'taedima 

Almondbury,  'aimbari 
Alnwick,  'sBnik 
Alpha,  'aelfa 
Ambrosia,  aem'brouzja 
Ameer,  'aemiia 
Anabasis,  a'naebasis 
Anchises,  aeg'kaisijz 
Anstruther,       'aensta, 


Antrobus,  'aentrebos 
Aphrodite,  aefro'daiti 
Apocrypha,  o'pokrife 
Areopagus,  aeri'opogas 
Argyll,  ai'gail 
Arion,  a'raion 
Aristophanes,aeri'stofanijz 
Armada,     ai'maido, 

ai'meida 
Armitage,  'ai 
Ate,  'eiti 


Athenaeum,  aefli'nijam 
Athene,  o'^ijni 
Athens,  'ae^onz,  -inz 
Athlone,  ae^loun 
Auchinleck,  'aeflik 
Ava,  'a:v9 

Baal,  T)ei9l 
Bacchanal,  'baekanal 
Bacchus,  'baekos 
Baden-Powell,     T>eid9n- 

'pouol 

Bagehot,  Isaedsat,  'baegat 
Balcarres,  bael'kaeris 
Balfour,  TD-aelfoi 
Bastille,  'baestijl 
Beaconsfield,  'bijkanzfijld, 

Ibekonzfijld 
Beauchamp,  'bijtjam 
Beauclerc,      Tx>uklei9, 


Beaufort,  'boufoit,  -fat 
Beaulieu,  'bjuili,  'bouli 
Beaumont,  'boumont, 

'boumont 
Beethoven,    Ibeithouvan, 

'beitouvgn 

Belle  w,  Tjelju  (bi'luw) 
Bellingham,  Tbelindsam 
Belvoir,  'bijva 
Berkeley,  l>a:kli 
Berkshire,  'baikjg 
Bertie  (surname),  Tjaiti 
Bessborough,  'bezbara 
Bethphage,  'be^fagij 
in 


ii2      The  Sounds  of  Spoken  English 


Buenos  Ayres,   bju'ijnos, 
'bjuinos,  'eirijz  (e:z,  aiaz) 
Burghclere,  ba:'kls:a 
Burghersh,  'ba:ga:J 
Burghley,  'ba:li 
Bury,  'beri 
-bury,  beri,  ban,  bri 
Bysshe,  'bij 

Byzantine,      bai'zaentain, 
bi'zaentin 


Cadiz,  Tceidiz 
Cadogan,  ka'dAgan 
Caedmon,  'keidmon 
Cairo,  'kairou 
Caius  (College),  'kijz 
Calais,  'kaslei,  'kaelis 
Calderon,  Tjoildaran 
Callaghan,  'kaelahsen 
Calliope,  ka'laiopi 
Callirrhoe,  ka'liroui 
Cam,  'kaem 

Cambridge,  'keimbrids 
Campagna,  kaem'pamja 
Campden,  'ksemdan 
Canaan,  'keinan 
Candace,  kaen'deisi 
Capell,  'keipal 
Carew,  'keiri,  ka'ruw 
Carlyon,  kai'laian 
Carmichael,  ka'maikal 
Carnegie,  ka'negi,  ka'negi 
Castlerea     (-reagh), 

kaisal'rei 
Catholic,  'kaefolik 
Cavau,  'kaevan 


Bethune,  'bijton, 
Bezant,  'bezant,  bi'zsent 
Bigelow,  'bigalou 
Bispham,       'bispham, 

'bizpam 

Blenheim,  'blenam 
Blom(e)field,  'bluwmfijld 
Blount,  'blAnt 
Boanerges,  boua'naidsijz 
Boer,  Tiuia,  'bouo 
Boleyn,  'bulen,  'bulin 
Bolingbroke,  'bolinbruk, 

Tjouligbruk 
Bompas,  'bAmpes 
Bootes,  bo'outijz 
Borghese,  boi'geizi 
Borrowes,  'bxrouz 
Bosanquet,  'bousarjkit 
Botticelli,  boti'tjeli 
Boucicault,  'buwsikou 
Boughey,  T3ouwi 
Boughton,  'bautan,  'boitan 
Boulger,  'bouldsa 
Bourchier,  'bautja 
Bourke,  'ba:k 
Brabazon,  'brsebazan 
Breadalbane,  bri'oilban, 

bri'dselban 
Brechin,  'brijkin 
Bridlington,    'bridlirjtan, 

'ba:  listen 
Broke,  'bruk 
Brougham,  'bruiam 
Broughton,  'broitan 
Buccleugh,  ba'kluw 
Buchan,  'bAkan 
Buchanan,  bju'kaenan 


Wordlist : 


Beth- Demo 


Chalfont,  'tjaifant 
Champlain,  Jaem'plein 
Chandos,  'Jaendos 
Charlemagne,  'Jailamein 
Charon,  'keiron 
Charteris,  'tjaitaz 
Cheetham,  'tjijtam 
Chersonese,  'kaisonijs 
Cheshire,  't$e$a 
Chetwode,  'tjetwud 
Cheyne,  'tjeini 
Chicago,  Ji'kajgou 
Chichele,  'tjitjali 
Chisholm,  'tjizam 
Chiswick,  'tjizik 
Cholmeley,     Cholmonde- 

ley,  Chomley,  'tjAmli 
Chrysostom,  'krisastam 
Cincinnati,  sinsi'nseti 
Cirencester,    'sairenseste, 

'sisesta,  'sizite,  'sisto 
Claverhouse,  'kleivoz 
Clough,  'klAf 
Cochrane,  'kokran 
Cockburn,  'kouban 
Codes,  'koklijz 
Cocytus,  ko'saitos 
Coke,  'kuk 
Colclough,  'koukli 
Colquhoun,  ko'huwn 
Combe,  'kuwm 
Compton,  'kAmton,  'kom- 

ten 

Connaught,  'konat 
Constable,  TfAnstobol 
Conyngham,  ' 
Corkran,  'kokran 


Cortes,  'koitijz 
Couch,  'kuwtj 
Courthope,  'ko:t9p 
Cousens,  'kAzonz 
Co  wen,  'kouan,  'kauan 
Cowper,  'kuwpa,  'kaupa ; 

(poet)  'kuwpa 
Cozens  -  Hardy,    'kAzanz- 

Tiaidi 
Creighton,     Crichton, 

'kraitan 
Croat,  'krouset 
Cromartie,  'krAmoti 
Crombie,  'krAmbi,  'krombi 
Cromwell,  'kromwal 
Cupar,  'kuwpa 
Cymric,  Tdmrik,  'kAmrik 
Czar,  'zai 

Czarewitch,  'zairivitj 
Czarina,  za'rijno 
Czech,  tjek 
Czerny,  'tjami 


Dalbiac,  'do:lbiaek 
Dalgleish,  'daelgliji 
Dalhousie,  dal'hauzi 
Dalmeny,  'daelmijni 
Dalziel,  'deial 
Damocles,  'dsemoklijz 
Darius,  da'raias 
Dauphin,  'do:fin 
Deborah,  'debara 
Delhi,  'deli 
Delilah,  di'laila 
Demosthenes,     di'mos- 
^anijz 

"3 


ii4      The  Sounds  of  Spoken  English 


Demy  (Magdalen  College, 

Oxford),  di'mai 
Denbigh,  'denbi 
Derby,  'dcr.bi 
Deuteronomy,       djuwta- 


Dives,  'daivijz 
Donegal,  doni'goil 
Donoghue,  'dAnahuw 
Doughty,  'dauti 
Drogheda,  'drohada 
Dvofak,  'dvoisak 

Ecclesiastes,  iklijzi'aestijz 
Edinburgh,  'edinbAra,  -bra 
Eisteddfod,  ais'teSvod 
Elcho,  'elkou 
Elgin,  'elgin 
Elizabethan,  eliza'bijflan 
Elysian,  e'lizjan 
Elysium,  e'lizjam 
Elzevir,  'elziva:,  -via 
Euripides,  ju'ripidijz 
Europe,  'jusrap 
European,  juro'piian 
Exmouth,  'eksmafl 

Faust,  'faust 
Faustus,  'foistas 
Fe(a)therstonhaugh, 

'feSastanho: 
Fildes,  'faildz 
Folkestone,  'foukstan 
Foulis,  'faulz 
Fowey,  'foi 
Froude,  'fruwd 
Gaelic,  'gselik  (Scotland), 

'geilik  (Ireland) 


Gairdner,  'gcr.dne 
Galway,  'go:lwei 
Gawain,  'gaewein 
Geddes,  'gedis 
Geikie,  'gijki 
Geoffrey,  'dsefri 
Geoghegan,  'geigau 
Giaour,  'dsaua 
Gibraltar,  dsi'broilta 
Giffen,  'dsifan 
Glamis,  'glaimz 
Glasgow,  'glsesgou 
Gloucester,  'glosta 
Gomme,  'gom 
Goschen,  'goujan 
Gough,  'gof 
Greaves,  'greivz 
Greenwich,  'grinids 
Grosvenor,  'grouvna 
Guildford,  'gilfad 
Gye,  'gai 

Hades,  'heidijz 
Haigh,  'heig 
Hamish,  'heimij 
Harcourt,  'ha:kat 
Harlech,  'hailik 
Hastings,  'heistipz 
Hawarden,  'haidan, 

'heiwoidan 

Haweis,  'ho:wis,  'hois 
Headlam,  'hedlam 
Hebe,  'hijbi 
Heneage,  'henids 
Hercules,  'ha:kjulijz 
Hermione,  ha'maioni 
Herodotus,  he'rodatas 


Wordlist  : 

Herschell,  'hasjel 
Hertford,  'ha:fad 
Hervey,  'haivi 
Hobart,  'hAbat 
Holmes,  'houmz 
Holyhead,  'holihed 
Hopetoun,  'houptan 
Horace,  'bores 
Hough,  'hAf 

Houghton,  'hoiten/hautan 
Huguenot,  'hjuwganot 
Huish,  'hjuwij 
Ian,  i;an 
Iddesleigh,  'idsli 
Ingelow,  'indsalou 
lona,  ai'ouna 
Iroquois,  'irokwas 
Israel,  'izraal 
Ithaca,  'itfaka 
Iveagh,  'aivi 
Ixion,  i'ksaian 
Jairus,  dsa'airas 
Jaques  ("As  you  like  it"), 

'dseikwiz 
Jean,  'dsijn 

Jerusalem,  dsi'ruwsalam 
Jervaulx    (Abbey), 


Jervis,  'd 

Jervois,  ' 

Jeune,  ' 

Johannesburg,  dso'haenis- 

boig 

Kaiser,  'kaiza 
Kearsarge,  'ki:asa:g 
Kedleston,  'kelsan  ;  (Der- 

byshire), 'kedelstan 


Demy-  Ley 

Keighley,     'kijli,     'kaili, 


Keightley,  'kijtli 

Keith,  'kij0 

Keogh,  Keough,  K'Eogh, 

Kehoe,  Tcjou 
Ker,  'kai,  ka:,  kea 
Keswick,  'kezik 
Keynes,  'keinz 
Khedive,  ke'dijv 
Kirkby    Stephen,    'ka:bi 

'stijvan 

Kirkcudbright,  ka'kuwbri 
Knollys,  Knowles,  'noulz 
Koran,  'koiran,  koi'raen, 

koi'ram 
Kough,  'kjou 

LafFan,  'laefan,  la'fsen 
Lama,  'la:  ma 
Laocoon,  lei'oukoon 
Lares,  'leirijz 
Lascelles,  'laesalz 
Lathom,  'lei^am 
Layard,  'leiad 
Leamington,  'lemirjtan 
Lefevre,  la'fijva 
Lehmann,  'leiman 
Leicester,  'lesta 
Leigh,  'lij 
Leighton,  'leitan 
Leitrim,  'lijtrim 
Leominster,  'lemsta 
Le  Queux,  la'kjuw 
Leveson-Gower,  'Ijuwsan- 

'gos 
Ley,  'lij 


n6      The  Sounds  of  Spoken  English 


Leys  (school),  'lijz 
Lisle,  'lail 

Llandudno,  laen'didnou 
Llewellyn,  lu'elin 
Lochiel,  lo'kijl 
Loughboro,  'lAfbara 
Lovibond,  'lAvband 
Lugard,  lu'gaid 
Luke,  'luwk,  'ljuwk 
Lymington,  'limirjtan 
Lyons,  'laianz 
Lyveden,  livdan 

M'Gee,  M'Ghee,  ma'gij 
Machiavelli,  maekja'veli 
Mackay,  M'Kay,  ma'kai 
Mackenzie,  ma'kenzi, 

ma'kerji 

Maclean,  maldein 
MacLehose,  'maekalhouz 
Macleod,  maTflaud 
Macmahon,  mak'mam 
MacManus,  mok'ma&nas 
Macnamara,  maskno'maira 
Macneill,  mok'nijl 
Maconochie,  m9'koT)ki 
Macquoid,  mo'koid 
Magdalen(e)  (College), 

'moidlin 
Magna    Charta, 

'ka:t9 

Magrath,  mg'gra: 
Maguire,  mo'gwais 
Mahan,  ma'haen,  main 
Maharajah,  maho'raid 
Mahomet,  ma'homit 
Mahoney,  'maini 


Mainwaring,  ' 
Majendie,  ' 
Malet,  'maelit 
Maori,  'maiori 
Marazion,  msera'zaion 
Marioribanks/maitJbaeTjks 
Marlborough,  'moilbara 
Marseillaise,  'mcusa'leiz 
Marylebone,  'maeriban 
Masham,  'maejam/maesam 
Massachusetts,    maesa- 

't^uwsits 
Mather,  'mseSa 
Maughan,  'mo:n 
Maurice,  'moris 
Medici,  'meditji 
Meiklejohn,  ' 
Melhuish,  'meli^ 
Menpes,  'mempis 
Mentone,  men'touni 
Menzies,  'mirjiz,  'mer)iz 
Meux,  'mjuwz,  'mjuwks 
Micheldever,  'mitjaldeva 
Milan,  'milan,  mi'laen 
Millard,  mi'la:d,  'milod 
Mivart,  'maivat 
Mohun,  'muwn 
Moleyns  (de),  'mAlinz 
Molyneux,  'mAlinjuw 
Momerie,  'mAmari 
Monck,  'mAT)k 
Monckton,  'mArjktan 
Monro(e),  man'rou 
Montaigne,  mon'tein 
Morant,  mo'ra6nt 
Moule,  'muwl,  'moul 
Mowbray,'moubri,muwbri 


Wordlist  : 

Naas,  'neis 

Napier,  'neipjd,  'neipiio 
Neil,  'nijl 
Nemesis,  'nemesis 
Nepean,  ni'pijn 
Nereid,  'nijriid 
Newnes,  'njuwnz 
Newquay,  'njuwkij 
Nice,  'nijs 
Nigel,  'naidsal 
Nineveh,  'ninivi,  -vo 
Nirvana,  nes'vama 
Northcote,  'noi 


Oban,  'oubon 
O'Callaghan,  o'kaelahan 
Oceania,  ouji'einjo 
Oceanic,  ouji'aenik 
Odysseus,  o'disjuws 
Odyssey,  'odisi 
Ogilvy,  'ougolvi 
Ohio,  o'haiou 
O'Meara,  o'maire 
Omega,  'oumego 
Orion,  o'raian 
Orpheus,  'o:f  juws 
Osbourne,  'ozban 
Ottawa,  'otewa: 
Oudh,  'uwd 
Ouless,  'uwlis 
Ouse,  'uwz 
Outram,  'uwtrem 
Paget,  'psedsit 
Palgrave,  'po:lgreiv 
Pall  Mall,  'pel'mel,  'psel 

'msel 
Paraguay,  'pserogwai 


Lejrs-Punjab 

Paton,  'peiten 
Pegram,  'pijgram 
Pembroke,  'pembruk 
Penelope,  pe'nelopi 
Penicuik,  'peuikuk 
Pennefather,  'penife^a 
Penrhyn,  pen'rin 
Pentateuch,  'pent9tjuwk 
Pepys,  'pijps 
Perowne,  pa'roun 
Persephone,  pa'sefoni 
Persia,  'pa: Jo 
Petrie,  'pijtri 
Pharaoh,  'fs:rou 
Philippi,  fi'lipai 
Pigott,  'pigat 
Pinero,  pi'nsjrou 
Pirbright,  'paibrait 
Pirie,  'piri 
Pleiades,  'plaiadijz 
Poe,  'pou 
Pole,  'puwl 

Pole  CaFew,  puwl'keiri 
Ponsonby,  'pAnsonbi 
Pontefract,     'pontifraekt, 

pAmfrit  (cakes) 
Powell,  'poual 
Powis,  Powys,  'pouwis 
Powlett,  'poilit 
Praed,  'preid 
Prometheus,  pro'mij  0juws 
Prowse,  'prauz 
Psyche,  'saiki 
Pugh,  'pjuw 
Puleston,  'pilston 
Pulteney,  'poultni 
Punjab,  peu'dsaib,  -o:b 
117 


n8      The  Sounds  of  Spoken  English 


Pyramid,  'piramid 
Pythagoras,  pai'flaegaraes 

Quixote,  'kwiksat 

Rajah,  'raidje 
Raleigh,  'ro:li,  'raeli 
Ralph,  'reif,  'rself,  'ra:lf 
Rayleigh,  'reili 
Reay,  'rei 
Rehan,  'reian 
Renaissance,  ri'neisans 
Reuter,  'roita 
Reynard,  'renaid 
Rheims,  'rijmz 
Rhodesia,  rou'dijzja 
Rhys,  'rijs 
Romney,  'rAmni 
Rothesay,  'ro0si 
Rouse,  'ruwz,  'raus 
Rowton,  'roitan 
Roxburgh,  'roksbaro 
Ruthven,  'riven 

Sacheverell,  sae'Jevaral 
St  Clair,  'sigkleia 
St  John,  'sindsan 
St   Leger,    sant'ledsa, 

'silandja 
St  Maur,  'simo: 
St  Neots,  sa'nijts 
St  Paul,  sant'po:! 
St  Roch,  sant'rouk 
Salisbury,  'sojlzbari 
Saltoun,  'soiltaun 
Sandys,  'saendz 


Sanhedrin,  'saenhedrin 
Sassenach,  'saesenaek 
Saunders,  'samdoz 
Scone,  'skuwn 
Scrymgeour,  'skrimdsa 
Searle,  'sa:! 
Selous,  sa'luws 
Seneca,  'seneka 
Seton,  Setoun,  'sijtan 
Severus,  si'vijras 
Shaughnessy,  'Joinasi 
Sherbourne,  'Ja:ban 
-shire,  Je  (Jia) 
Shrewsbury,     'Jruwzbari, 

'Jrouzbari 
Sikh,  'sijk 
Slough,  'slau 
Somers,  'sAinaz 
Somerset,  'sAmeset 
Sophocles,  'sofaklijz 
Southwark,  'sASak 
Southwell,  'sAtJal 
Sphynx,  'sfipks 
Stagirite,  'staedsirait 
Stan  ton,  'stamtan 
Stour,  'stuia 
Strachan,  'Jtrom 
Stranraer,  straen'raa 
Symonds,  Symons/simanz 


Teignmouth,  'ti 
Telemachus,  te'lemakas 
Terpsichore,  tai'psikori 
Thames,  'temz 
Theobald/^ibald,'(9ijobo:ld 
Theseus,  'tfijsjuws 
Thorold,  ' 


Wordlist  : 

Thucydides,  flju'sididijz 
Tighe,  'tai 
Tintagel,  tin'taedsal 
Tollemache,  'tolmaej 
Towcester,  'toista 
Toynbee,  'toinbi 
Trafalgar,  tra'faelga,  'trse- 

f9lga: 

Tredegar,  tri'dijga 
Trefusis,  tri'fjuwsis 
Treloar,  tri'loia 
Trevelyan,  tri'viljan,  tri- 

'veljan 

Troubridge,  'truwbrids 
Tynemouth,  'tinma0 
Tyrwhitt,  'tint 


Urquhart,  ' 
Uruguay,  'j 
Uttoxeter,  'Aksita 

Valparaiso,  vselpa'raizou 
Vanbrugh,  'vaenbra 
Van  Dyck,  vsen'daik 
Vaughan,  'vo:n 
Vavasour,  'vaevasa 
Venezuela,  veniz'weile 
Vezin,  'vijzin 


Pyra-Zuid 

Victor,  'fi:eto:r 
Villiers,  'vilaz 
Vinci,  'vintji 

Waldegrave,  Voilgreiv 
Walhalla,  vael'haeto 
Waugh,  'wo: 
Weguelin,  'wegelin 
Wemyss,  'wijmz 
Wesleyan,  'wezlian 
Willard,  wi'lcnd 
Wolseley,  'wulzli 
Worcester,  'wuste 
Wylie,  Wyllie,  Vaili 

Xenophon,  'zenafon 
Xerxes,  'za:ksijz 

Yeames,  'jeimz 
Yeatman,  'jeitmon 
Yonge,  'JAT) 
Yosemite,  jo'semiti 

Zenana,  zi'na:n9 
Zeus,  'zjuws 
Zouche,  'zuwj 
Zuider  Zee,  'zaida  'zei 


The  above  lists  must  be  regarded  as  an  experiment.  It 
is  not  to  be  expected  that  the  selection  of  words  and  in 
some  cases  the  pronunciation  indicated  mil  commend 
themselves  to  all  readers.  Suggestions  and  criticisms  are 
earnestly  invited,  so  that  it  may  be  possible  to  improve 
the  lists  in  subsequent  editions. 


119 


izo      The  Sounds  of  Spoken  English 

APPENDIX  III 
On  the  Teaching  of  Reading. 

THOUGH  the  teaching  of  reading  does  not  strictly 
come  within  the  scope  of  this  book,  a  few  hints  may 
be  given  on  the  subject. 

For  the  first  stages  the  student  is  referred  to  the 
wholly  admirable  work  of  Miss  Dale,  based  through- 
out on  a  careful  study  of  the  spoken  language. 

Later  on  it  is  important  that  the  pupils  should  be 
able  to  read  aloud  with  distinct  articulation  and  an 
agreeable  voice.  Far  the  most  helpful  book  is  Mr 
Burrell's  "  Clear  Speaking  and  Good  Heading  "  (pub- 
lished by  Longmans).  He  dwells  on  the  importance 
of  good  breathing  and  a  good  posture,  and  gives  suit- 
able exercises  for  ensuring  both.  He  condemns  all 
that  is  affected  or  stagy ;  indeed  his  whole  book  is 
an  eloquent  plea  for  quiet  and  restraint.  He  rightly 
advises  the  teacher  to  listen  carefully  to  good  speakers, 
avoiding  (as  a  rule)  those  of  his  own  profession.  In 
dealing  with  phonetics  he  hardly  appreciates  the 
advantages  attaching  to  a  thorough  study  of  the 
language  as  it  is  actually  spoken ;  but  we  can  re- 
commend without  reserve  the  later  chapters  of  his 
book  (vi.  The  Heading  Lesson;  vii.  Reading  and 
Reciting ;  viii.  Specimen  Lessons  in  Recitation ;  ix. 
On  the  Higher  Study  of  Reading  and  Speaking). 


APPENDIX  IV. 

THE  following  diagrams  serve  to  show  the  position 
of  the  tongue  in  the  formation  of  some  of  the 
vowels. 

Observe  the  different  shapes  of  the  mouth  passage 
through  which  the  breath  passes. 

(These  diagrams  were  originally  prepared  by 
Dr  R.  J.  Lloyd.) 


122 


Appendix  IV. 


Appendix  IV. 


123 


This  diagram  represents  the  vowel  [a].  In  northern 
English  It  Is  found  In  words  like  pat ;  In  southern 
English  it  Is  the  first  part  of  the  diphthong  In  hov*e 
[haas],  bite  (bait). 


124  Appendix  IV. 


Appendix  IV. 


126 


Appendix  IV. 


The  following  diagrams  are  the  result  of  ex- 
periments with  an  artificial  palate,  covered  with 
fine  powder.  When  certain  sounds  are  uttered, 
the  tongue  touches  the  palate  and  some  of  the 
powder  is  removed.  What  is  black  in  the  diagrams 
indicates  those  parts  of  the  hard  palate  which  are 
touched  by  the  tongue. 


These  diagrams  show  where  the  tongue  touches  the  palate  In 
the  production  of  [J]  and  [s]  respectively. 


English  -word  toe 


French  word  tit  fa) 


These  diagrams  are  by  Mr  Dumvllle,  and  are  taken  from  his  Elements  of  French 
Pronunciation  and  Diction.  They  illustrate  the  manner  of  production  of  the 
English  and  the  French  [t].  It  will  be  noticed  that  In  the  case  of  the  English 
sound  the  tongue  Is  farther  back  than  in  the  case  cf  the  French  sound. 


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